Power is in the Eye of the Beholder
by SK Dark Dragon
Summary: A demonic enemy suddenly turns up in Domino and steals the Millennium Eye. Yugi and his friends must work together with the four people that the demon was originally after to stop the demon's nefarious plans. -YGO and YYH Crossover- -COMPLETED!-
1. Chapter One: Unpleasant Discoveries

Power is in the Eye of the Beholder  
  
Notes: ^_^! New story! XD This is the next story in our little series. It comes right after our "Trial of Spirit" but if you haven't read that one, things will pretty much explain themselves over again anyway, so don't worry. ^_~  
  
Red Archery Girl: ^^ Disclaimers! We don't own YuGiOh, or any of its characters from the anime or manga. We DO own our OCs and this story, obviously. XP  
  
Priest Seto: And, um...that's it. o_o;  
  
^^! Yep! On with the story now!  
  
***********  
  
Chapter One: Unpleasant Discoveries  
  
It was a dark and cold night in Domino, Japan, and most of the citizens were sound asleep, seeing as how it was well past midnight by now. The cold breeze that blew by every now and again rustled the bare branches of the winter trees and whistled against the windows of houses all around.  
  
By the light of the moon, Ryou Bakura sat up in bed, blinking. A moment ago, he thought he'd been in another dimension, a dimension ruled by an evil mistress where he'd been forced to fight against his friends. But now...he was back at home, is his own bed.  
  
"I'm...back," Bakura murmured in disbelief, pulling off his covers and standing up, looking around. "Everything's just the way it was when I'd left."  
  
Silently, he started to walk over to turn on a light of some sort so he could see, but a jingle from around his neck caused him to stop and look down at his chest in fear.  
  
  
  
A cold sweat broke out on his forehead as he recognized the gold object that he was wearing.  
  
"The...the Millennium Ring?" Bakura whispered fearfully, taking a step backward, even though the ring itself was attached to him and walking backwards wouldn't bring him any further away from it than he was before. "But...but that's impossible!"  
  
He'd given the Millennium Ring to Yugi after he and Yami Yugi had successfully defeated the evil spirit within it, but now it was back with Bakura, in his room, around his neck?  
  
"My Millennium Ring was with me in that other dimension," Bakura thought to himself, trying to recall what had happened and organize his thoughts. "So...did it come back with me too?"  
  
Gulping, he hurried over to his dresser drawer and pulled it open, afraid that the evil spirit within his ring would awaken once again and take control of Bakura. Hurriedly, he pulled out a sweatshirt and some pants, trying to find something quickly that he could pull on to go to Yugi's and return the Millennium Ring, before it was too late.  
  
As the white-haired boy rummaged blindly through his drawers by the dim light of the moon, he pulled out a pair of long pajama pants, causing something small and round to fly out from where they'd been tucked in the cuffs and roll across the room.  
  
Startled, Bakura dropped the pajamas and looked around, following the gleaming object's trail as it rolled around the room and came to a stop by the window. Reluctantly, Bakura leaned forward and squinted to see what had been tucked into his drawer secretly.  
  
Gasping, Bakura recognized the object as the mood came out from behind the clouds, allowing a stream of light to come into the room, illuminating the object.  
  
"It...can't be!" Bakura gasped, sweating harder now. "The...the Millennium Eye?!"  
  
************  
  
Yugi hung up the phone, sighing as Yami appeared beside him in his spiritual form.  
  
"I finished calling most of them," Yugi sighed, looking wearily up at his partner. "They all got back okay too."  
  
Yami forced a smile, trying to be happy for his aibou. It was wonderful that everyone was back all right, but that didn't mean that Zurui, the owner of the other dimension, was finished with them just yet. They'd only weakened her temporarily.  
  
"That's good, Yugi," Yami replied, smiling down at Yugi, who looked exhausted. "Now shouldn't you get some rest yourself? You've had a long experience and you've got things you need to do tomorrow."  
  
Yugi groaned, picking his weary body up and walking over to his bed, collapsing on the soft mattress and pulling his blankets over him.  
  
"I don't EVEN want to think about tomorrow, Yami," Yugi murmured sleepily, a hint of laughter in his voice, but a very vague one.  
  
Yami smiled, shaking his head as he chuckled.  
  
"All right, Yugi," he replied, grinning. "You get some rest now," he instructed, floating over to the window and staring out at the night streets, thinking to himself.  
  
************  
  
Across town, Seto Kaiba lay sleeping soundly in his bed, quite ready for some actual rest after the whole other dimension escapade that night. His younger brother, Mokuba, was asleep as well. However, Priest Seto, the spirit of the ancient high priest, was still quite awake, not that a spirit needed sleep anyway, and was roaming the halls of the Kaiba Manor, alert.  
  
  
  
"Zurui may have been temporarily weakened..." he thought to himself, narrowing his cold blue eyes as he passed by a grandfather clock. "But she will be back, I'm sure. But the question is, where and when will she strike next?"  
  
The priest sighed, closing his eyes as he floated down the dark hallway, the old clock he'd passed striking two in the morning. There was still so much he didn't know about the newest enemy of theirs, but it seemed that any possible answers to the mystery of Zurui lay within the other dimension itself, but seeing as how they'd both been brought to and released from the dimension without a trace of a door, there was no way that the priest knew of that could take them back. Not that they NEEDED to be going back right away, though.  
  
The clock chimed behind him once again, indicating the hour as Priest Seto glanced out a large window in the living room of the mansion. The moon outside had hidden behind some dark clouds, immersing the whole house in darkness.  
  
  
  
"We will just have to stay on our guard," Priest Seto sighed.  
  
************  
  
Ishizu Ishtar sat outside the house she shared with her brother, Malik, and their loyal friend, Lishito, staring up at the round moon above. It was late at night, but the Egyptian woman felt restless, and couldn't get to sleep.  
  
"Ever since I gave the Pharaoh my Millennium Necklace, I haven't possessed the powers to foresee the future," she said softly to herself, folding her hands in her lap as she stared out at the seemingly endless desert in front of her. "But even being separated from the Millennium Necklace has not fully impaired my intuition, although...it is strange."  
  
Ishizu brushed a lock of her long, black hair behind her, resting it on her shoulder.  
  
"Normally I only sense things when I'm close by the item, like when I visit Japan," she murmured, lowering her gaze to her lap. "But lately, I've been feeling a great force looming close by, as if something huge is about to happen."  
  
Looking up at the sky, the woman sighed.  
  
"I only hope it is not dangerous," she murmured softly.  
  
*************  
  
  
  
Over in the temple in Egypt, out in the middle of nowhere on the sandy plain, Bastet, the black cat goddess, sat on a stone block, her yellow eyes narrowed, her tail flipping back and forth impatiently as two men approached her.  
  
"Well?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at the two Egyptians, one of which was carrying a golden set of scales, the other wearing a golden ankh that was carved into a key at the bottom. "What have you discovered?"  
  
The man with the ankh-necklace stared at the cat goddess with his hard, dark eyes.  
  
"Yugi Motou and his...friends have managed to escape from the other dimension which they had been sealed in," The man announced, Bastet's eyes lighting up.  
  
"Really? How do you know this, Shadi?" she asked, glancing skeptically over at the man.  
  
The man beside Shadi smiled, holding out the golden scales.  
  
"We both saw visions of it with the aid of the Millennium Key and scales," he replied kindly. "All of the chosen ones, and their comrades, were freed from the odd dimension."  
  
Behind Bastet, the ibis-headed god of the moon, Thoth, put his quill to his chin thoughtfully.  
  
"How?" he inquired, looking over at the two men with his beady, black eyes.  
  
Shadi looked over at the other man.  
  
"Though Karim and I saw visions of their safe return, we lack the reasons why and how," he explained darkly.  
  
Thoth glanced over at Karim, the younger Egyptian man with should-length black hair and dark skin. He held the scales delicately, treating them with respect.  
  
"Karim?" he asked, studying the man. "So you've found the final chosen one, have you not, Shadi?" Thoth asked, his gaze going from Karim to Shadi, who nodded.  
  
"Yes, I have," Shadi replied, looking over at Karim as well. "The fated possessor of the Millennium Scales is this man, Karim. He was working on a simple farm when I found him, but the item itself tested him, and it proves that he is the one."  
  
Karim looked down at the Millennium Scales, or rather, HIS Millennium Item in wonder. It had only been a few days since he'd been snatched out of his life that he'd lived in the same way for twenty long years and drawn into this strange mystery of the ancient Millennium Items. He'd heard the stories all his life, but to actually find that he himself was one of the chosen ones was quite a shock.  
  
Bastet's tail flicked again.  
  
"Good then," she replied, sitting up straighter. "And what else have you seen with the items abilities?"  
  
"There is a strong force in Domino," Karim replied, deciding to speak up for once. "Good or evil, I cannot tell, but it hovers there, and..."  
  
The Egyptian man paused, closing his eyes, a new piece of information coming to him as the Millennium Scales lit up. Bastet cocked her head as Thoth looked on in interest. A moment later, Karim opened his eyes again, thrown off guard by the sudden activation of the item.  
  
"Well?!" Bastet asked anxiously, intrigued as she stared wide-eyed at the man.  
  
Karim swallowed.  
  
"The force, although I do not know how..." he began, trembling slightly. "Possesses a Millennium Item."  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter One  
  
^_^ Review!  
  
"Yes, PLEASE do. ^^ Let us know what you think. If it's a little confusing right now, don't worry. XD Things will explain themselves in later chapters. But for now, review, and we'll get the next chapter up soon!" 


	2. Chapter Theft and Collision

Chapter Two: Theft and Collision  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Red: ^^ And here's chapter two! And yeah, there's no Yugi or Seto in this chapter, but it helps get the plot underway. ^^; Bear with us here.  
  
Priest Seto: X_X; *reads* Oh my...  
  
************  
  
Chapter Two: Theft and Collision  
  
Bakura hurried down the damp strees, the Millennium Ring tucked underneath his jacket, which he'd hastily pulled on over his pajamas in his rush to get out of the house, and the Millennium Eye clutched in his hands.  
  
Just holding the item that once belonged to Pegasus and feeling the cold metal against his skin made goosebumps rise on his arms and the hairs on his neck prickle.  
  
"Someone stole Pegasus's Millennium Eye," Bakura panted to himself, looking right and left as he came to an intersection, trying to remember the way to Yugi's Game Shop in his panic. "Someone..."  
  
Bakura gulped, taking a left turn and dodging a car as he made it to the other side of the street and continued running down the damp sidewalks toward Yugi's house.  
  
"That someone...must have been me..." Bakura murmured, his brown eyes wide. "Or, the spirit of the Millennium Ring controlling me, at least."  
  
  
  
A wave of sadness washed over him as he realized all the damage that spirit had done in the past, and could do again, if he didn't get rid of the Millennium Ring soon. The honking of a car horn brought the boy back to reality as he jumped and tripped over a gutter, falling down on the hard cement near a dark alley-path.  
  
"Ow!" he cried as he skinned his knee, tearing a hole in his thin pajama pants.  
  
His hand that had been clutching the Millennium Eye fell open, letting the round Millennium Item roll down into the alley with a final glint before vanishing into the darkness. Bakura's eyes grew wider as he pulled himself to his feet.  
  
"I can't let that item fall into the wrong hands!" Bakura cried, hurrying into the alley, looking around frantically for the round Millennium Item, but the darkness made it hard to differentiate between the ground and an object.  
  
On other side of the alley, a tall figure, clothed in a baggy coat, looked down at the ground as the golden Millennium Eye rolled over to him, running into his shoe, causing the eye to stop rolling.  
  
Raising an eyebrow, the figure bent down and picked up the eye with a green, scaly hand, examining it.  
  
"Now what have we here...?" The figure murmured, turning the eye over in his hands, studying it closely.  
  
A sudden crash caused the figure to jump as he looked over at Bakura, who had fallen over a tipped-over trash can, slamming into the ground again and causing a great deal of noise.  
  
The green-skinned figure tucked the eye into his pocket silently and walked away, thinking to himself.  
  
"If that boy dropped this golden eye and was bothering to look for it in the middle of the night in an alley, it must be of some importance," The figure murmured, grinning, revealing several sharp, yellow teeth. "Perhaps I should investigate this item. It could be of some use to me..."  
  
************  
  
Bakura pulled himself off the ground once again, feeling stiff, cold, and wet. His eyes stung as he sat down on the damp pavement, feeling as though he were about to cry. In fact, that was exactly what the white-haired boy felt like doing at the moment.  
  
Bakura pulled his legs in and sat cross-legged on the pavement, feeling miserable.  
  
"This night just couldn't get any worse," he moaned, squeezing his eyes shut and letting a stream of tears roll down his cheeks. "The Millennium Ring, then the Millennium Eye, and then losing the eye..."  
  
Bakura cast a quick glance around the alley. It was too dark to see anything at all, and he hadn't brought any money with him to buy a flashlight or anything, even if any of the shops had been open.  
  
"I'm alone in the middle of the night looking for a Millennium Eye in an alley," he thought to himself, sighing miserably. "How could things have possibly gone so wrong?"  
  
There was a thumping noise on the other side of the alley, as if someone had jumped and landed on the ground. Bakura didn't care as he sighed once again, moving toward the trashcan again to see if the Millennium Eye had rolled behind it as a flash of pink light suddenly came from behind him.  
  
Bakura gasped, turning around quickly and glancing up to see a tall figure standing above him, brandishing a long, thorn-covered whip of some sort, its eyes narrowed, fixated on Bakura.  
  
Bakura gasped, squeezing his eyes shut and holding his arms over his head in defense. The figure gazed down at Bakura for a moment, taken off guard as he made out the dark outline of the trembling boy. The figure lowered his whip down to his side as Bakura opened one eye.  
  
"I'm sorry," Came a gentle voice, quite unexpected from someone who'd just snuck up on Bakura with a whip.  
  
A hand reached out of the darkness to Bakura.  
  
"Let me help you up," The figure said kindly. "Please excuse my rude greeting, I thought you were someone else."  
  
***********  
  
Tea sat in her room, her eyes weary from staying up so late, but she, for some odd reason, couldn't seem to get to sleep.  
  
"Come on, Tea," she told herself sternly, looking at herself in the mirror, examining the dark circles under her eyes. "You're a wreck! What you need is a LONG nap."  
  
The brown-haired girl stumbled across her room and collapsed on her bed, thinking hard to herself. The night had seemed to pass in a blur ever since she'd returned from the other dimension. Yugi had called her just a half-hour ago to see if she were okay, but now the entire house was silent and the phone hadn't rung again.  
  
Not that she was expecting it to, but something about the atmosphere gave her a horrible sense of foreboding.  
  
"What, am I afraid that if I go back to sleep, I'll wake up in that weirdo dimension again?" Tea demanded herself, pulling the covers up over her chest and turning off the lamp beside her bed. "Get real, Tea," she murmured sleepily, resting her head on her pillow. "And even if I did...Yugi would be there to rescue us all and free us...again..."  
  
With that, the girl drifted off into an uneasy sleep.  
  
************  
  
Bakura took the stranger's hand and pulled himself up, feeling his heart thud in his chest. Who WAS this strange person who had confronted him so violently, and then turned into a kind passerby?  
  
The figure pulled Bakura out of the alley and onto the sidewalks, where the light from the streetlamps illuminated them both. Bakura blinked as he studied the figure.  
  
The person who had helped him up had turned out to be a boy about his age, with reddish hair about the same length as Bakura's and bright green eyes which looked down at him. The boy was wearing a white outfit of some sort, and the whip, which he had been holding in the alley, had strangely vanished, and instead the boy was clutching a fully bloomed rose in his right hand.  
  
"My apologies again," The boy said, smiling slightly. "You look lost...are you?"  
  
Bakura shook his head, swallowing hard, wondering whether or not he could trust this strange boy. After all, he HAD just sprung him with a whip, but then again, he seemed so nice now...and sincere...but...  
  
"What would have happened to me if I HAD been the person he was looking for?" Bakura thought to himself with a gulp as he shook his head.  
  
"No, I...I'm not lost," Bakura stammered, looking into the boy's green eyes. "I...I was on my way to a friend's house to give him something important, but I dropped it in the alley."  
  
The red-haired boy smiled.  
  
"Ah, and you can't find it in the dark, can you?" he asked, Bakura nodding frightfully. "There's no cause for alarm; I'm not going to hurt you. But I'm afraid that there ARE some beings out tonight that could. It's best not to be staying near dark alleys."  
  
Bakura bit his lip.  
  
"I know...but it was very important..." he murmured, gazing longingly back at the alley, wondering what would happen if he never found the Millennium Eye.  
  
The red-haired boy smiled, tucking the rose into his pocket.  
  
"Listen, why don't you go back home? I promise to help you find the thing that you're looking for first thing in the morning, as soon as its daylight, that is," he offered.  
  
Bakura blinked.  
  
"But...but what if someone takes it?" he asked, panicking. "I'll be in so much trouble..."  
  
The red-haired boy smiled.  
  
"No one will take it," he promised. "Now go home and come back here at dawn. I will help you."  
  
Bakura watched as the boy turned to walk away.  
  
"Wait!" Bakura called, biting his lip. "Who are you? I mean...what's your name?"  
  
The red-haired boy smiled, closing his eyes as he continued to walk away.  
  
"Shuichi," he called back to Bakura, deciding that would be the better name to choose. "My name is Shuichi..."  
  
With that, the red-haired boy disappeared into the night, leaving Bakura alone once again, stunned.   
  
"Shuichi..." Bakura murmured, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Then, sighing after glancing once more at the alley, he turned and started toward home. Bakura couldn't help but trust Shuichi, or whoever he was, even though he was a complete stranger.  
  
"I just hope no one takes the eye before I get back here and find it," Bakura murmured, biting his lip as he broke into a run and hurried home.  
  
***********  
  
The green-skinned figure from before ducked back into the alley, narrowing his eyes as he watched Bakura leave.  
  
"That boy must really need this eye," he muttered, pulling it out of his coat pocket again and rolling it over in his hands. "But what's so special about it?"  
  
"Why not investigate?" Came a voice from the wall, and the green-skinned beast glanced up to see a shadow with yellow eyes peering out at him.  
  
The figure gasped, backing up.  
  
"Master," he murmured, bowing slightly in respect. "But what do you mean, investigate?" The green-man asked, looking down at the eye. "Like, open it up and see if something's inside?"  
  
There was an impatient hiss from the shadow.  
  
"No, fool," It snapped angrily. "Honestly, I suppose one only comes with brains or muscles, except me of course. Put it in your own eye and see what powers, if any, it possesses."  
  
The green-man jumped, looking horrified.  
  
"B...but master!" he cried, his eyes widening.  
  
The yellow eyes of the shadow narrowed into tiny slits.  
  
"Or do you want to face my wrath, slave?" It snapped in a quiet voice, the green-man looking shaken. "Once you've figured out what it does, kill the boy it belonged to before exterminating the team. We can't have him running around blabbing about it being missing, or else we'll have trouble."  
  
The green man gulped, looking down at the Millennium Eye he was clutching in his scaly hands.  
  
"Y...yes master," he murmured, gulping before placing it in front of his eye.  
  
There was a flash of gold light and the green-man screamed in agony as he fell to his knees. The shadow on the wall, far from feeling pity for his subordinate, looking impressed.  
  
"Ah..." he murmured, grinning mischievously. "A Millennium Item of Egypt, I see..."  
  
He smirked.  
  
"This could come in quite handy with my upcoming tasks..."  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter Two  
  
^_^ Review!  
  
Red: ^^ Yes, please do review. Next chapter up soon!  
  
Priest Seto: X_X! 


	3. Chapter Three: Truth and Deception

Chapter Three: Truth and Deception  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing! And disclaimer: We don't own YuYu Hakusho or any of its characters either. Of course, the shadow and the green-man are our OCs. XD And I gotta credit an RP Princess Ria and I did for Mokuba's fear of the doctor, LOL. Oh, and don't worry, Seto still has the Millennium Rod and Yugi has the puzzle and the necklace. ^_~  
  
Red: Yeeep! ^^ And here's chapter three!  
  
*************  
  
Chapter Three: Truth and Deception  
  
The next morning, the sun rose early in Domino City, Japan. The rays of sun came into all the windows of the Kaiba Manor as Seto Kaiba sat at the dining room table with Mokuba, eating breakfast.  
  
  
  
Mokuba squirmed down in his chair, hoping his older brother, after all the confusion with the other dimension, had forgotten about what day it was. As the tried to tip-toe away from the table, Seto put the newspaper down calmly and stood up.  
  
"Go get your jacket Mokuba," he instructed, causing Mokuba to cringe. "We have to be at the office for your appointment by 10:00 this morning."  
  
Mokuba sighed, slouching down as he turned to face his brown-haired brother.  
  
"But niisama!" he moaned, even though he knew it was futile to protest. "I don't need a well check-up. I'm healthy, see? We don't need to pay someone else to tell me that!"  
  
Seto chuckled, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
"You're still going, Mokuba," he replied, walking across the room and putting on his white trenchcoat. "You have to have one at least every five years for your school records, so you don't have a choice."  
  
Mokuba sighed, walking slowly upstairs to get his jacket.  
  
"All right," he mumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets, shivering at the thought of the doctor's office.  
  
Priest Seto blinked as he floated by, looking confused at Mokuba's long face.  
  
"Why is Mokuba so depressed?" Priest Seto asked Seto, tilting his head to the side as Seto adjusted his coat. "Isn't it a day off from school?"  
  
Seto sighed, turning and facing the priest.  
  
"It is, but I'm taking him for his well check-up at the doctor's," Seto replied, walking toward the door. "And let's just say he isn't exactly looking forward to it."  
  
Priest Seto blinked, staring after his reincarnate.  
  
"Why would you take Mokuba to the doctor's if he was not sick?" he inquired, confused. "Is that not what a doctor is for?"  
  
Seto sighed, shaking his head.  
  
"It's a modern thing, priest," he said simply, not wanting to get into another long conversation with the spirit. "You can come if you want."  
  
Priest Seto nodded slowly, thinking.  
  
"Now that you mention it, that is one place I have yet to see of this modern world," he murmured, floating after Seto, who was heading for the front door.  
  
Mokuba tromped downstairs, zipping up his coat, grumbling to himself.  
  
"All ready?" Seto asked, looking down at his black-haired brother.  
  
Mokuba nodded with a sigh.  
  
  
  
"Yeah, let's get this over with, I guess," Mokuba murmured, shivering again.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, across town near Domino Station, a black-haired boy yawned, stretching as he buttoned his jean-jacket that he had been using as a blanket during the previous night. Wincing, he put his hand to his back.  
  
"Ack, remind me never to sleep on a park bench again," he muttered, standing up straight again and looking around for some sign of his partners. "Now where are those guys...?"  
  
"Urameshi!" A loud voice yelled from behind him and the black-haired boy turned around to see a tall, orange-haired boy running toward him, an angry frown on his face. "Jeez, where have you been?! I've been looking everywhere for you!"  
  
The black-haired boy frowned, irritated.  
  
  
  
"Good morning to you too, Kuwabara," he muttered, yawning again. "I've been right here all night. Unfortunately, when you're a spirit detective and you don't have any money with you on your cases, you have a limited choice of resting spots."  
  
The tall boy, Kuwabara, blinked.  
  
"You didn't bring any money with you?" he laughed, a big, goofy grin spreading over his face. "Jeez, Yusuke, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of! I spent the night in a comfortable hotel room," he boasted, grinning.  
  
"Great. Maybe your performance will have improved then," Came a cold voice from below Kuwabara's elbow, and he looked down to see a short, rather spiky, black-haired boy standing there, wearing a black robe of some sort and a white headband around his forehead. "Or else you may as well just go back to your comfortable room."  
  
Kuwabara's face screwed up in anger.  
  
"Listen, Hiei," he shouted down at the boy, who didn't look phased. "Can't you just be nice, for once?!"  
  
Hiei huffed.  
  
"Where's Kurama?" he asked, directing his question toward Yusuke and ignoring the furious Kuwabara.  
  
Yusuke shrugged, looking around.  
  
"No clue," he replied, blinking. "I figured you'd know where he was."  
  
Hiei folded his arms across his chest.  
  
"We'll just start up the search again without him!" Kuwabara declared loudly. "That demon won't escape our grasp this time!"  
  
Yusuke rolled his eyes.  
  
"Try to keep a low profile, okay?" he muttered to the over-zealous Kuwabara. "People around here probably aren't used to this kind of thing, you know, zombies and demons and magic powers..."  
  
Kuwabara sighed.  
  
"Gotcha," he muttered, turning and walking toward the Domino Station and the other shops. "We'll split up and track him down."  
  
Yusuke rolled his eyes.  
  
"Let's hope you don't find him then," he muttered to himself before walking in the opposite direction, Hiei disappearing in a flash of black light a moment later.  
  
************  
  
Pearl Lark yawned, sitting up in bed and stretching.  
  
"Man, that was some horrible nightmare last night," she muttered, rubbing her brown eyes tiredly as she looked around the guest room she had at Duke Devlin's house.  
  
"That wasn't exactly a nightmare, Pearl," Came a voice from the door, and she looked up to see her older cousin, Amber, standing in the doorway, her eyes narrowed.  
  
Duke was standing behind her, his arms crossed.  
  
"Yeah, unless we all had the same dream," Duke added, looking concerened. "It looks like we really were transported to another dimension and back again last night."  
  
Amber shuddered.  
  
"But why?" she asked, narrowing her blue eyes further. "I mean, all we did was play that sick little game and then we were freed again."  
  
Pearl gulped, remembering how she'd been brainwashed and forced to duel against Mokuba. The black-haired boy had been nice enough to force the duel to a draw rather than either of them claiming victory.  
  
"Yeah, why?" Pearl blurted out, looking irritated. "That was mean! And it's not like whoever it was gained anything."  
  
Duke sighed, glancing at the two girls.  
  
"Maybe we ought to go over to Yugi's house and see if he has any answers," he suggested. "He and Kaiba were gone an awfully long time during that "test" thing. Maybe they figured out something that we didn't."  
  
Amber nodded as Pearl hopped out of bed.  
  
"Yeah, good idea," she replied, hoping that their friend would have some information for them.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Bakura looked around the alley, gulping. He'd been there for ten minutes already and he hadn't seen hide nor hair of Shuichi.  
  
"Where is he?" he muttered, pushing the trashcan over and looking around it, hoping desperately to see the eerie Millennium Eye looming behind it, or in one of the broken flower pots that were strewn about the cement.  
  
"I'm right here," Came a calm voice, and Bakura whirled around to see the red-haired boy who had called himself Shuichi standing behind him, still wearing the odd white outfit with gold trimmings, but no sign of the whip from yesterday. "As promised, I'll help you find what you lost."  
  
Bakura forced a small smile.  
  
"All right then," he murmured, looking up at Shuichi. "I lost a small, round, gold eye," he explained, holding out his hands to show the size. "It's very important, and if it falls into the wrong hands, terrible things could happen."  
  
Shuichi raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Really?" he asked, feeling a bit nervous now. "It possessed, some sort of magic?"  
  
Bakura nodded, still unsure about this boy.  
  
"Yes, so if you could help me...that'd be great..." Bakura started, but was cut off by a yell from the other side of the alley.  
  
"Hey!" The black-haired boy named Yusuke from before called, waving as he hurried toward them. "Kurama! What're you doing in this alley?"  
  
Bakura blinked, looking from "Shuichi" to Yusuke, confused.  
  
"I promised this boy I'd help him find something that he lost," Kurama explained, smiling.  
  
Bakura narrowed his eyes, confused.  
  
"Wait a minute, you told me your name was Shuichi, not Kurama," The white-haired boy pointed out, feeling a bit deceived. "What's going on here?"  
  
Yusuke gulped, scratching his cheek in embarrassment, realizing he'd just blown his demon-friend's cover. Kurama sighed, realizing now he'd have to explain everything to the boy.  
  
"Uh...nickname?" Yusuke offered meekly.  
  
*************  
  
Seto walked along the sidewalks with Mokuba, who was rubbing his arms furiously. Even with his jacket, it was still freezing outside, and walking to the doctor's wasn't exactly what he'd had in mind on a winter day.  
  
"C...can't we wait until next month?" Mokuba persisted, hoping he'd convince his brother before they reached the office.  
  
Seto sighed, shaking his head.  
  
"NO, Mokuba," he replied firmly as they crossed a street and reached the sidewalk on the other side. "Like you said, it's better to just get it over with."  
  
Priest Seto floated along quietly behind the two, listening to them talk. Narrowing his eyes, he tried to tune into the forces around him. He could sense several strong forces within the city, the Millennium Items, no doubt, he thought to himself. There are other people with extra abilities, but that's probably just Pearl and that sort.  
  
He trailed off, sensing a strange other force nearby, but the strange part was that even though the force seemed to be dark at first, the blinding light power, as if of a Millennium Item, kept covering it up. Lost in his thoughts the priest almost didn't follow Seto and Mokuba as they took another turn, approaching the office.  
  
"This way, priest!" Mokuba called, waving as Priest Seto, looking embarrassed, hurriedly took the turn, following them.  
  
************  
  
A little ways behind them, Kuwabara was trudging along the streets, scanning everyone passing by.  
  
"No one around here seems to have any dark powers..." he muttered, looking up one street.  
  
Suddenly, a strange feeling came over him and he shivered, glancing nervously up at the first people on that street, which happened to be Mokuba and Seto, and the unseen Priest Seto.  
  
"I'm picking up a strange feeling from one of those guys..." Kuwabara muttered, looking left and right, as if he were being followed, before turning and following behind Seto and his brother. "I bet they're the demon we're looking for."  
  
He grinned.  
  
"And I'll get to beat him up and prove that I was useful after all," he declared proudly to himself. "Today is definitely going my way."  
  
With that, the orange-haired boy hurried after Seto and Mokuba, content at having found the "demon" first.  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter Three  
  
^_^ Review!  
  
Red: ^^ Please do!  
  
Priest Seto: o_o And next chapter up soon?  
  
^^ That's right!  
  
Priest Seto: x_X; I'm not a demon.  
  
^^;;; 


	4. Chapter Four: Coincidence

Chapter Four: Coincidence  
  
Notes: x_X; Oookay. Thanks for reviewing, if you did, but since something's apparently wrong with fanfiction.net, I'm not getting any e-mails for reviews and I can't seem to access the new ones on the site either. X_X So for this chapter, if the problem still persists, and if you have any questions or comments, just e-mail me Cbrainy53@aol.com or leave a comment in my live journal. XD  
  
Red: I'm still here! So here is good old chapter four!  
  
Priest Seto: X_X And I'm still not a demon.  
  
^^; We know.  
  
************  
  
Chapter Four: Coincidence  
  
Hiei scanned the neighborhood below from the trees as he leapt from branch to branch, tree to tree in a blur of black. So far, the only living thing he'd seen was an old man going out to get the newspaper and a little girl on a bicycle.  
  
"This is pointless," he muttered to himself, frowning. "There're so many different strong energy forces around here that I can't lock onto one."  
  
Down below, a the green-skinned man from before, still wearing the long coat, the collar pulled up so as to cover what was visible of his face underneath a large hat, crept out from the shadows, sensing a target close by.  
  
Gently, he reached up to touch the golden Millennium Eye, which had replaced his left eye the night before. But it was well worth it, he thought to himself with a grin. The strange eye seemed to give off extra powers and boost his energies; something that would come in quite handy during battle.  
  
"There's one..." The green-man murmured, watching as Hiei jumped down from a tree, looking around in confusion.  
  
***********  
  
Amber, Duke, and Pearl were walking down the street on the opposite side of the road, heading toward Yugi's house.  
  
"You think we should stop in at Joey's and ask him anything?" Duke asked, gesturing to Joey's house, which was directly across the street. "I mean, he was there too last night."  
  
Amber shrugged.  
  
"I don't know," she sighed, flicking a strand of her brown hair back behind her. "You know Joey. It'd probably be safer to just go ask Yugi directly."  
  
  
  
Pearl nodded, fingering her pearl around her neck.  
  
"Yeah, and the sooner we ask Yugi about this, the sooner we can go back home," she added, shivering slightly. "I don't want to be outside in this kind of weather."  
  
Duke chuckled as Hiei, who was watching them from the other side of the street, narrowed his eyes at them. There was a strange energy that was hovering around them, or at least one of them, but they seemed like ordinary humans...  
  
"Perhaps I should investigate..." he muttered, turning to follow the threesome, but a sudden noise behind him cause him to whirl around, coming face-to-face with the green-skinned man, the Millennium Eye glinting in the sunlight.  
  
"Going somewhere?" The green-man hissed, grinning, revealing his sharp, yellow teeth.  
  
Before the black-haired demon could react, the Millennium Eye lit up, and the green-skinned man punched him, his punch enhanced by the mystical Millennium Item's powers.  
  
Hiei flew backwards with such force that he crashed through the upstairs window of the house behind him. The green-skinned man grinned as the sound of shattering glass filled the air.  
  
"That takes care of one," he murmured, turning and slinking into the shadows. "Now for the others, and then I can leave this pathetic human city."  
  
***********  
  
Joey Wheeler sprang up in bed, awakened with a start by the sound of shattering glass. His eyes widened as he saw that his very window had been broken, as if someone, or something, had thrown a baseball into it.  
  
"Hey!" Joey growled, jumping out of bed and slipping on his shoes, not wanting to get cut on broken glass. "Who the heck did this?!"  
  
The blonde-haired boy stomped over to the window, glass crunching under his feet, and glanced out, seeing no one below him. Narrowing his eyes, Joey clenched his fists.  
  
"HEY! WHOEVER BROKE MY WINDOW IS GONNA HAVE TO PAY FOR IT!" he yelled, forgetting that he was probably going to end up waking the entire neighborhood at this hour.  
  
Upon hearing no reply the boy sighed miserably, definitely not expecting such a rude awakening. There was a crunching of glass behind him and Joey whirled around to see a small, dark figure trying to free itself from a tangle of Joey's school uniforms and other things that had been neatly (or at least neater than they were now) hung in the closet.  
  
Joey's temper rose again.  
  
"What's the big deal?!" he demanded, stomping over to the closet, where Hiei was pulling Joey's school jacket off of himself and brushing glass off of his robe. "Look little kid, you can't just go swinging into my window at..."  
  
Joey paused to check his watch.  
  
"9:40 in the morning!" he finished with a glare. "Not that I would allow you to go swinging through my window any other time either, but that's not the point!"  
  
Hiei narrowed his eyes, sighing.  
  
"Are you finished yet?" he asked icily, looking clearly bored with Joey's rant.  
  
Joey narrowed his eyes further, his fists shaking. Who did this person think he was?! He'd just broken a perfectly good window, and now he was acting like JOEY was the idiot.  
  
"I'm not gonna stand for that!" Joey declared boldly, sounding menacing. "Now you're gonna have to pay for that window, got it?"  
  
Joey blinked as in a flash of black light, Hiei was already behind Joey, at the broken window. Joey turned around, baffled.  
  
"Hey...how'd you do that?" Joey asked quizzically, forgetting about the broken window for a minute.  
  
Hiei rolled his eyes, looking bored.  
  
"I don't have time to explain, human, not that you'd understand anyway," he said coldly, jumping out the window and into a tree nearby. "Stay in your house if you know what's good for you."  
  
With that, he disappeared, jumping from tree to tree in a black blur, hoping to catch up with whatever jumped him by surprise. Joey gaped for a moment, and then pulled on his blue jacket and hurried over to the window.  
  
"Hey! You still have to pay for my window!" he yelled after Hiei, who didn't seem to hear him.  
  
Growling, Joey impulsively grabbed onto the gutter outside his window and shakily slid to the ground, where he took off in the same direction as the black-haired demon.  
  
"Get back here, kid!" Joey yelled, sprinting after him. "You can't escape from Joey Wheeler!"  
  
************  
  
Bakura blinked in surprise, Kurama and Yusuke having filled him in on their reasons why they were here, and exactly what they were.  
  
  
  
"So you're a demon?" Bakura asked, shocked, Kurama nodding.  
  
"Yes, and we're here looking for a much more dangerous one," he explained. "His name is Atokata, and he's a notorious demon with a criminal record in the spirit world."  
  
Yusuke nodded, looking impatient.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, so Koenma sent us to this city, whatever it's called again, cause that's where he was last sighted," he picked up hastily, stuffing his hand into his jeans pocket. "So what's the big deal with this guy, Kurama?"  
  
Bakura blinked.  
  
"I'm looking for the Millennium Eye, which I lost last night," Bakura said, sighing, seeing now why Kurama was worried. "It's an ancient Egyptian artifact with magical powers, and it's very dangerous."  
  
Kurama nodded, picking up.  
  
"And so if the Atokata or one of his minions has found it and using its powers, we're in real trouble," he said, Yusuke sighing.  
  
"Isn't that always the way things end up?" he muttered, looking irritated. "Okay, so what kind of power does this Millennium Eye thing have?" he asked Bakura.  
  
Bakura gulped.  
  
"Um...the last owner used it to start Dark Games...and take people's souls away," he began, hoping the two wouldn't take him for crazy.  
  
But after the story they had just told, how could they?  
  
Kurama sighed.  
  
"This definitely doesn't look good," he murmured.  
  
*************  
  
Seto sat in the waiting room in the children's wing of the doctor's office, Mokuba beside him, his arms crossed in irritation. Priest Seto was floating around near the magazines that were spread out on a table.  
  
"Can we leave now? It's taking too long," Mokuba tried again, Seto sighing in exasperation.  
  
"No, we cannot leave now," he replied, staring into space in boredom.  
  
He had to admit, it was taking a while, and he was starting to get irritated. The only thing that seemed remotely of interest was a bumbling teenage boy who was sitting across from him, pretending to read a magazine. Seto knew he couldn't really be reading the magazine since every few minutes he glanced up at Seto and Mokuba skeptically.  
  
Kuwabara held the magazine up high, peering discreetly over the top at Seto, Priest Seto now floating above his reincarnate.  
  
"That's definitely the demon," he muttered to himself, glancing over at Mokuba. "And he must have that kid hostage. But why take him to a doctor's office...? Unless...there's some evil mad demon doctor here and this place is only just DISGUISED as a doctor's office! Yeah, that's it! I gotta be on my guard..."  
  
Priest Seto studied Kuwabara suspiciously.  
  
"That boy seems to have a strange force of some sort surrounding him," he muttered, Seto looking over at him, shrugging.  
  
"He doesn't exactly look like he's supposed to be here, I'll admit," Seto replied as a tall woman with a blonde pony-tail opened the door, grinning sweetly.  
  
"Mokuba Kaiba," she called, shooting a friendly grin at Mokuba, who hid behind Seto as the two stood up.  
  
"I'm not here!" Mokuba called back, causing the blonde woman to chuckle.  
  
"Come on back now, little boy," she said encouragingly as Seto took Mokuba's hand and pulled him toward the door, Mokuba looking horrified.  
  
"Please, I don't want to!" he whispered to Seto, who sighed in exasperation as they walked past the blonde woman and into the hallway, Priest Seto floating after them, looking confused.  
  
The blonde woman then closed the door with a snap, leaving Kuwabara alone in the waiting room. He narrowed his eyes.  
  
"All right, my hunch has been proved correct," he murmured to himself, glaring over at the closed door. "That poor little kid's probably gonna get tortured back there. He didn't want to go back there, but that demon guy made him. And that woman...she was just too good-looking to be true. You don't have good-looking doctors."  
  
  
  
The orange-haired boy put his hand to his chin, thinking carefully about how to approach the matter.  
  
***********  
  
Tea sighed, walking down the sidewalks of Domino by herself, the chilly wind blowing her hair into her eyes. Absentmindedly she brushed the lose strands away and turned a corner.  
  
"I wonder if Yugi would be up yet," she murmured to herself, thinking back to the horrible nightmarish realm from the night before. "I mean, we were up late last night with the winter dance and the whole dimension thing, but it's past ten."  
  
Smiling, she reached the other side of the street and continued on toward Yugi's.  
  
"I may as well try," she decided, smiling, not noticing the shadowlike figure behind her.  
  
As she walked on ahead, the shadow on the wall, Atokata, narrowed his yellow eyes as he tried to focus in on the persons that he was sending his men after.  
  
"I thought there were only four that we needed to be wary of," he murmured, angry showing in his low voice. "Two enhanced humans and two demons, but it seems that this city has more enhanced beings and spirits than I had expected."  
  
"Master..." Came a voice in Atokata's mind, and the shadow monster narrowed his eyes further.  
  
"Uroko?" Atokata asked impatiently. "Have you managed to kill any of them yet?"  
  
The green-scaled man, Uroko, gulped, the Millennium Eye glinting in the sunlight from where he was standing.  
  
"Well...I put one out of commission," he said, sounded less that sure.  
  
Atokata sighed in irritation.  
  
"I said KILL them, not punch them through windows," he snapped, reading his servant's mind through the telekinetic link. "You don't want to get the humans involved yet, do you?"  
  
Uroko shook his head quickly.  
  
"No, of course not master," he replied hastily.  
  
"Good," Atokata replied, clenching his shadowy fist as he started to vanish into the darkness of an alley. "There are more enhanced beings in the city that we realized. But aware, and kill the original four before they manage to recruit new allies. We are running out of time, Uroko."  
  
Uroko nodded, sweating.  
  
"I understand master!" he cried. "I won't fail you."  
  
Atokata narrowed his eyes.  
  
"You better not," he replied before vanishing, the mental link broken.  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter Four  
  
^_^! Thanks for reading, and review, please.  
  
Red: -_-; And hopefully we'll be able to read them. If not, just e-mail if you had a question.  
  
Priest Seto: X_X;; These enemies really don't sound very good. 


	5. Chapter Five: Confusion and Attack

Chapter Five: Confusion and Attack  
  
  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing/commenting. And it seems the review-problem has been fixed, so thanks for all the nice reviews. ^_^  
  
  
  
Red: Dun, dun, dun, and here's chapter five!  
  
Priest Seto: *nods* Chapter Five! And I'm still not a demon.  
  
^-^;; Yes, we know.  
  
************  
  
Chapter Five: Confusion and Attack  
  
Mokuba sat nervously on the table in the "Blue Room" of the doctor's office, Seto sitting down in a chair on the other side of the room, reading a magazine calmly as the woman doctor who had opened the door for them smiled too-sweetly at Mokuba.  
  
"My name is Elizabeth Harding, but you can just call me Dr. Liz, Mokuba," she said kindly, grinning what the boy perceived as a phony-sweety-sweet grin.  
  
"Okay," Mokuba replied, folding his arms across his chest, eyeing the woman suspiciously.  
  
Dr. Liz smiled again as she pulled out a little black box and opened it to reveal a set of shiny tools. Mokuba gulped as he edged closer to the side of the table. Seto glanced up and Mokuba shot him a pleading look that clearly said, "Get me out of here!"  
  
Seto sighed, giving Mokuba a reassuring smile before turning back to Dr. Liz.  
  
"We're here for just a check-up, if you didn't know," Seto said in an instructing voice.  
  
Dr. Liz smiled sweetly at him too.  
  
"Of course," she replied, picking up a small rubber hammer-like tool.  
  
Mokuba narrowed his eyes.  
  
"You're gonna hurt me," he declared.  
  
Dr. Liz chuckled, tapping Mokuba's knee lightly.  
  
"Of course I'm not going to hurt you," she assured the boy as he pulled his knee away from her hammer's reach.  
  
"Then why'd you just hit me?" Mokuba demanded, frowning.  
  
Seto sighed, looking back down at his magazine. This was going to be a LONG check-up, he thought to himself.  
  
***********  
  
Hiei strolled down the street, glancing left and right, picking up all sorts of different life forms with high spirit energy, or forms of magic. He figured the human boy who he'd run into earlier had probably given up the search, so now the black-haired demon was looking for either the demon enemy, or the rest of his team, whichever he came across first.  
  
There was a huffing sound behind him, and Hiei raised an eyebrow, turning around to see Joey, exhausted-looking and panting, jogging up him. Hiei rolled his eyes, sighing.  
  
"This fool is almost as stupid as Kuwabara," he muttered to himself, letting Joey catch up.  
  
"You...still...have to...pay...for that...window...!" The blonde-haired boy said, gasping for breath in between words. "So...slow down...and give up already...!"  
  
Joey bent over, catching his breath.  
  
"So," he panted, grinning and looking down at Hiei. "What do you say now, shorty?"  
  
Hiei blinked, looking bored.  
  
"I say you're a fool," he replied, turning and starting to walk away again.  
  
Joey gaped after the black-haired boy, stunned.  
  
"Wha...WHAT?!" Joey demanded, sprinting in front of him and grabbing hold of the collar of his black robe. "What was that, shrimp?!"  
  
"This guy's almost as arrogant as Kaiba!" Joey thought angrily to himself, clenching his other fist tighter around the collar.  
  
Hiei didn't look impressed with Joey's display of "tough."  
  
"I said, you're a fool," he replied calmly, in an instant disappearing from sight and reappearing a few feet away, smirking, leaving Joey clutching the black robe.  
  
Hiei brushed off his blue shirt calmly, semi-interested in Joey's response. The blonde-haired by had become very quiet as he gaped at Hiei in shock.  
  
"You...you're not human," he finally stammered out, his brown-eyes wide.  
  
Hiei narrowed his eyes coldly at Joey.  
  
"Well spotted," he replied icily. "Now I've got things to do, and I can't have foolish humans like you interfering."  
  
Joey gritted his teeth, the smaller boy's attitude clearly ticking him off.  
  
"Oh yeah? Well what have you got to do that's SO important, shorty?" Joey snapped, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring skeptically at Hiei.  
  
Hiei huffed, walking past Joey.  
  
"Nothing that concerns you, that's for sure," he replied, wondering where the demon that had punched him through Joey's window earlier had gotten to by now.  
  
Joey narrowed his eyes.  
  
"It concerns me cause you came flying into MY window this morning," he replied defiantly. "So if you're not gonna pay for it, you can at least tell me who the heck you are and what you're doing here."  
  
Hiei sighed, turning around and facing Joey. If it'll get this human off my back...he thought to himself.  
  
************  
  
Yusuke, Kurama, and Bakura walked down the street, Bakura glancing edgily over at Kurama, wondering why a "demon" would be helping out humans in a search to CAPTURE a demon. Sighing, Bakura looked down at his Millennium Ring, which gleamed in the sunlight.  
  
He hadn't told the others that the Millennium Ring was ALSO an item of magic, and could also become a potential weapon against them all if the evil spirit within it decided to repossess Bakura.  
  
Yusuke raised an eyebrow as he studied the white-haired boy closely.  
  
"It's like there's two people following me..." he thought to himself, glancing over at Kurama, who was striding along beside him. "And it's not Kurama. What's up with this Bakura kid anyway? And why did he have the weird eye in the first place?"  
  
  
  
"So we're going to your friend's house?" Kurama asked, breaking the silence as he looked over at Bakura, who nodded shakily.  
  
"Yes...Yugi, and the spirit of the Pharaoh who lives in the Millennium Puzzle, own the Millennium Puzzle and Necklace, and they know a lot more about the items than I do," he explained. "If anyone can help us track down the eye, it's him..."  
  
Bakura trailed off, looking down at the ring. Tracking down Millennium Items WAS its specialty, but he didn't want to tap into the powers of the ring and accidentally awaken Yami Bakura. No, he'd play it safe and let Yugi figure things out.  
  
Yusuke scratched his head, annoyed.  
  
"So how many Millennium Item things ARE there, anyway?" he asked as the group turned a corner. "I mean, what would happen if our demon-friend found them all?"  
  
Bakura sighed.  
  
"There are seven Millennium Items," he explained softly, his brown eyes worried as he looked down at the ground. "Whosoever possesses all seven will gain unimaginable power."  
  
"Well that's just GREAT," Yusuke grumbled sarcastically.  
  
Kurama narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Then if the being we're looking for took your Millennium Eye, perhaps, encouraged by his newfound powers, he will go seeking the other items," he said darkly, his green eyes narrowed. "Which means your friend Yugi, and anyone else who has obtained one, is in danger."  
  
Bakura gulped, glancing down at the ring. It didn't do a thing, and the boy relaxed a little.  
  
"We should hurry up and get to this Yugi-guy's house then," Yusuke declared, turning to Bakura. "Lead the way, Bakura."  
  
Bakura nodded, taking a turn down Yugi's neighborhood.  
  
************  
  
Kuwabara snuck down the hallways near the examination rooms, having seized the opportunity to get in when the nurse at the front desk left for a break. Looking determined, the orange-haired boy was now listening carefully for any sounds of torture from the various rooms.  
  
There was a loud shriek, which caused him to trip over a scale and land on the floor beside the closed door to the red room. Quickly, he pulled himself to his feet and narrowed his eyes.  
  
"I don't want a shot!" Came a young girl's voice, and Kuwabara sighed, picking himself back up again and moving on to the next door.  
  
"This is almost like trying to find a needle in a haystack," he muttered, looking right and left, alert. "Or a demon in a crowd."  
  
************  
  
Dr. Liz looked down at her charts, filling in various things and checking off various conditions that applied to Mokuba. Mokuba glared at her still, pulling his striped-shirt back on again.  
  
"So..." Seto said after waiting impatiently for over ten minutes.  
  
Dr. Liz smiled, her green eyes darting over to Seto.  
  
"I'm healthy," Mokuba grumbled, crossing his arms. "Yay. I already knew that."  
  
"Well," Dr. Liz began, looking down at her papers. "I did find a few problems."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Problems?" he asked, confused, as Mokuba face fell.  
  
Dr. Liz nodding, giving him an encouraging smile.  
  
"Well, nothing that can't be fixed over time," she said reassuringly. "I sense a large attitude problem, a lack of socialization skills, and downright rudeness to elders."  
  
Mokuba rolled his eyes, stunned that the DOCTOR was picking on his attitude. Seto sighed as well, completely disgusted with Doctor Liz.  
  
"I'M the one with the social barrier, and Mokuba was rude because he doesn't like doctors," Seto replied coldly, standing up and closing his magazine. "And I came here for a HEALTH inspection, which none of those categories fall in, by my standards."  
  
Dr. Liz smiled sweetly once again, checking off some more things on her charts.  
  
"Regardless," she replied, grinning as she faced Seto. "I think it would be best if we took some...actions."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow. Priest Seto looked a bit confused as well. "Actions" against misbehaving children most likely meant getting whipped or beaten. I learned that the painful way, he remembered with a shudder.  
  
Dr. Liz smiled wider as she looked over at Mokuba.  
  
"I happen to also be a psychiatrist as well as a pediatrician," she announced proudly, beaming. "And so, I think that it would be best if Mokuba got a chance to say what was on his mind and perhaps we could, fix a few faults. What do you say, tonight? Around 7:30?"  
  
Mokuba's eyes bulged.  
  
"What?!" he yelled, standing up quickly, angry. "I don't need to go visit some wacko and tell them my life's story!" he yelled. "I DON'T want to go! And you can't make me!"  
  
***********  
  
Kuwabara blinked, having heard a shout from another room.  
  
"I DON'T want to go, and you can't make me!"  
  
The boy narrowed his eyes as he clenched his fist.  
  
"They're probably forcing the kid to do something else against his will," he growled, aiming at the door. "Well, they'll have to deal with ME first!"  
  
With a mighty swing, he punched at the door, knocking it right off its hinges and into the Blue Room, where Seto, Mokuba, who was in the middle of another yell, and Dr. Liz blinked as the dust cleared, looking at Kuwabara like he was insane.  
  
"Let the kid go and no one gets hurt!" Kuwabara declared, getting ready to summon his weapon, if necessary.  
  
Dr. Liz gasped, looking horrified at the sudden appearance of the orange-haired teen.  
  
"Burglar!" she yelled, pushing a button on the wall to activate the intercom. "Security in the Blue Room! NOW!"  
  
Mokuba gulped, running over to Seto and holding onto his arm. Seto didn't look phased by Kuwabara's threats, but he didn't understand them.  
  
"What do you mean, let the boy go?" Seto asked coldly, narrowing his eyes. "He's my younger brother."  
  
Kuwabara gritted his teeth.  
  
"Playing dumb, eh?" he asked, stepping forward, Dr. Liz shrinking into a corner.  
  
Mokuba narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Playing dumb? You're the dumb one!" he replied, hoping the teen wasn't really dangerous, or aiming to take him away from Seto.  
  
Priest Seto floated over to Kuwabara, studying the boy.  
  
"Hm..." he murmured, sensing strange energies emitting from the boy.  
  
"Just stay quiet kid and I'll rescue you in a second!" Kuwabara declared, holding out his hands and a long, orange, glowing sword-like weapon suddenly appeared. "Spirit Sword!"  
  
He narrowed his eyes at Seto.  
  
"If you won't hand him over quietly, I'll just have to take him by force!" he declared, preparing to attack the brown-haired boy.  
  
  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 5  
  
^_^; Sorry for SO many delays in getting this chapter out. We should we updating more regularly now that everything's back to normal.  
  
  
  
Red: -_-; Yeah. ^^ So, PLEASE leave a review. Let us know what you think. ^_~  
  
Priest Seto: ^^ And next chapter up soon...o_O; It better get up soon! You didn't finish what was happening with Seto Kaiba and that boy.  
  
^^; It's called a cliffhanger, Priest. 


	6. Chapter Six: Millennium Crisis

Chapter Six: Millennium Crisis  
  
Notes: ^-^ Thanks for reviewing, all. And just for those who don't watch/know much about YYH, Kuwabara and Yusuke are humans, and Hiei and Kurama are demons. ^_~  
  
Red: And...*checks numbers* I think this is chapter six!  
  
Priest Seto: *nods* Yes, Chapter Six, Millennium Crisis. ^^!  
  
Right! ^_~  
  
************  
  
Chapter Six: Millennium Crisis  
  
Yugi blinked sleepily as he heard a knock on the door downstairs. Sitting up in bed, he yawned, rubbing his eyes and looking over at his clock on his bedside table. Gulping, he jumped out of bed and got dressed hastily.  
  
"It's already past ten!" he exclaimed to Yami, who had appeared beside him in spiritual form as the spiky-haired boy put the Millennium Puzzle around his neck and skidded to the door. "I can't BELIEVE I slept in so late!" he moaned, thumping down the stairs and to the front door, where someone was impatiently banging. "I'm coming!" he yelled, wondering what their hurry was.  
  
************  
  
Bakura sweatdropped as Yusuke banged on the front door to the Game Shop, looking more and more irritated by the second.  
  
"I think he's probably heard us by now!" Bakura said politely over the banging.  
  
"Then why isn't he answering?" Yusuke grumbled, crossing his arms. "There's no point in wasting all our time with someone who PROBABLY isn't even going to be of much help."  
  
"We don't know that for sure," Kurama reminded Yusuke as the door finally opened and Yugi looked out at the three people gathered on his doorstep.  
  
"Uh...hi?" Yugi offered, confused, as he pulled the door open wider, recognizing Bakura. "Friends of yours, Bakura?" he asked, giving a half grin, which quickly faded at everyone's serious expressions.  
  
Bakura scratched his cheek.  
  
  
  
"Sort of..." he muttered, looking down at the ground. "It's a long story."  
  
Kurama stepped forward.  
  
"To make things simpler, your friend misplaced one of the...Millennium Items, and we're afraid that a demon that we're hunting might have found it," he explained, causing Yugi to pale.  
  
"A Millennium Item's missing?!" he cried, looking over at Bakura and noticing the Millennium Ring around his neck. "But which one? You've got the ring right there."  
  
Bakura gulped.  
  
"Last night, I found the Millennium Eye in my dresser drawer, and on my way to bring it to you, I tripped and dropped it in an alley," he sighed, feeling miserable. "I looked and looked, but I couldn't find it. That's when I ran into these two, er, Sui...I mean, Kurama and Yusuke, and they agreed to help me find it."  
  
Yugi's eyes bulged.  
  
  
  
"Nice to meet you two, but...you LOST the Millennium Eye?!" he burst out, trying to remain calm.  
  
"Annnd a demon got a hold of it," Yusuke pointed out.  
  
Yugi gulped.  
  
"Okay, that's not good," he muttered, pacing back and forth, Yami watching him from above the doorway. "A DEMON, did you say?" he asked, stopping and blinking.  
  
Kurama sighed, another explanation coming up.  
  
"Yes, a demon," he replied. "But it would take too long to explain. Let's just say that if that eye gives its owner the powers that your friend said, we're going to be in trouble soon."  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"Yeah," he muttered, glancing down at the puzzle. "So what do you want to do? Track down the demon and get the eye back?"  
  
Yusuke nodded.  
  
"That would be the best option," Kurama replied.  
  
Yugi tilted his head and looked over at Bakura strangely.  
  
"Why didn't you just use the Millennium Ring and track down the eye, Bakura?" he asked, curious.  
  
Bakura gulped.  
  
"Well..." he muttered, not knowing how to say that he was still afraid of the ring.  
  
Yusuke blinked.  
  
"The Millennium Ring thing can track down the Millennium Eye?" he asked, looking confused.  
  
  
  
Yugi nodded.  
  
"The Millennium Ring's special ability is that it uses the five pointers to direct its master in the direction of other Millennium Items," he replied. "Using its powers will help us find the eye a lot faster."  
  
"Then by all means, use it!" Yusuke declared, grinning. "Then we can beat up this demon, give you your eye back, and we can go home...finally."  
  
Kurama raised an eyebrow, sensing Bakura's insecurity. Why would he be so hesitant to use his own weapon? Kurama wondered, narrowing his eyes. And why is it that I feel like this boy is not all that he appears to be...?  
  
Bakura gulped, holding out the ring with a sigh.  
  
"All right," he muttered, the ring starting to glow.  
  
************  
  
Dr. Liz screamed as Kuwabara brandished his Spirit Sword, glaring at Seto.  
  
"How did you do that?" Mokuba gaped, blinking.  
  
Priest Seto put a hand to his chin thoughtfully, trying to figure out the strange intruder's purpose.  
  
"He uses spiritual energy to create the strange sword just like you and I use it to summon the monsters," The priest observed, looking over at Seto with a confused expression. "Strange..."  
  
Kuwabara, however, turned around, no longer sensing the odd presence from near Seto. Upon seeing no one behind him, he gritted his teeth, confused.  
  
"Are you masking your energy or what?" he declared, looking around, left and right. "Or is this some kind of demon trick...?"  
  
Seto folded his arms across his chest, not impressed.  
  
"I don't know what you're talking about," he replied coolly.  
  
Priest Seto reached over and tapped Kuwabara's shoulder, even though the orange-haired boy couldn't see him. Kuwabara grew rigid and his face looked pale.  
  
"There's a ghost around here!" he cried, looking behind him.  
  
Seto nodded, as if seeing ghosts was average. Dr. Liz looked petrified as she looked from the two brothers back to Kuwabara.  
  
"Yes," Seto replied, Priest Seto looking pleased with having figured out Kuwabara's reason for attacking them. "It's an ancient spirit that follows me around, you could say."  
  
  
  
Kuwabara gulped, his Spirit Sword vanishing.  
  
"So...I've been trailing a ghost?" he muttered to himself, feeling like an idiot. "Not a demon? And here I'd thought I was on the right track all this time..."  
  
"Um...I don't know about demons, but there's plenty of spirits around Domino," Mokuba grinned, winking at Priest Seto. "Makes life more interesting, and they're really helpful."  
  
Dr. Liz's eyes widened. Ghosts? Demons? What in the world had just happened here? Whatever it was, she couldn't see it, or understand it, but it was certainly interesting. Two boys who could see ghosts, and another that could create strange weapons out of nothing! This would certainly be worth mentioning to her boss...  
  
Kuwabara looked crestfallen.  
  
"Ghosts are nothing special," he muttered, turning to leave. "But I'm looking for a demon here. You seen any demons around lately?" he asked, turning around once more and glancing back at Seto and Mokuba.  
  
Mokuba shrugged.  
  
"There's lots of weird stuff that happens to us," he told the boy. "But I don't think it had to do with any demons."  
  
Just then, two security guards appeared at the door, looking into the Blue Room.  
  
"Dr. Elizabeth!" One called, looking alert. "Which one here is giving you problems?"  
  
Dr. Liz shook her head once, as if to clear her thoughts. She smiled sweetly at the two security guards as Kuwabara was desperately trying to think of an alibi for breaking down the door to a doctor's office.  
  
"Nothing's wrong here," Dr. Liz informed the guards smoothly, brushing her blonde hair back. "Nothing at all. One of my patients just got a little out of hand for a moment, that's all. You may go."  
  
One of the security guards raised an eyebrow, not convinced. The door had been knocked down from the outside, so how could a patient from INSIDE the office have done that?  
  
But his partner tugged on his sleeve, his face rather red as he smiled back at Dr. Liz.  
  
"Of course, Dr. Elizabeth," he replied kindly, dragging his partner away. "Anytime."  
  
Dr. Liz narrowed her eyes at Mokuba and Seto and Kuwabara.  
  
"All right, boys," she said sternly, putting her hands on her hips. "I don't know what just happened here, but I want some answers. I've got work to do right now, but go to my office in the main building across town at 8:00 tonight. And I suggest you be there. ALL of you," she snapped, noticing Kuwabara trying to slink out of the room. "Now good day, gentlemen."  
  
With that, the blonde-haired doctor walked out of the room, her high-heeled shoes clacking on the cold floor as she left. Kuwabara gulped.  
  
"Okay...she's weird," he muttered, picking up the door and putting it against the wall.  
  
"She's not the only one," Mokuba replied coolly, raising an eyebrow at the orange-haired boy. "Who are you, anyway?"  
  
Kuwabara sighed, slumping down.  
  
"Listen, just call me Kuwabara, and I'm tracking down a demon with my er, team, and I kinda followed you guys here cause I thought the ghost was a demon," he mumbled quickly. "Honest mistake! Okay?"  
  
Seto blinked.  
  
"All right...but how can you sense the priest's spirit, anyway?" he asked, rather interested in what might be going on in Domino at the minute.  
  
Kuwabara sighed.  
  
"I'm good with sensing spirits and ghosts and stuff," he replied, walking toward the door. "But...I'm leaving now. See you."  
  
Mokuba sighed, his shoulders sagging as he looked up at his brother, Kuwabara dashing out of the Blue Room.  
  
"Niisama, do we have to go back to the lady again tonight?" he shuddered, feeling queasy just thinking about it. "I mean, all she was interested in was why we could see the priest...and we can't exactly explain that."  
  
  
  
Seto sighed, picking up his briefcase and walking toward the door, Mokuba following behind him.  
  
"Well, if we didn't show up she might report us to someone," he replied. "And that wouldn't be good for you, me, or anyone else."  
  
Mokuba sighed.  
  
"So we HAVE to go?!" he cried as the two brothers walked down the halls to the exit at the end, Priest Seto trailing behind them, still wondering about the strange boy from before.  
  
Seto sighed, opening the door and letting Mokuba walk out first.  
  
"It'll be fast," he assured the boy. "And if anything goes wrong..."  
  
Mokuba looked up at him curiously. Seto stopped and smiled, patting Mokuba on the head.  
  
"Don't worry, everything will be fine," he assured his younger brother.  
  
************  
  
Joey's eyes widened as Hiei sighed, turning around and starting to walk away again.  
  
"So now you know the story," he muttered. "Now leave me alone."  
  
Joey blinked, shaking his head and running in front of Hiei's path again. Hiei bristled, getting irked with Joey's constant delaying him.  
  
"You are trying my patience, human," he snapped, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Joey laughed nervously.  
  
"Um, yeah," he replied, grinning. "Just thought I'd mention that my pal Yugi happens to be a MASTER of games, and he can even..."  
  
Hiei huffed.  
  
"This ISN'T a game, idiot," he replied. "Haven't you been listening to me?"  
  
Joey nodded, waving his hands in front of himself as a shield.  
  
"Yeah, man, I've been hearing you, but when you said demon and stuff, I figured that my pal Yugi might be able to help, since he's got this old Millennium Puzzle thing that makes him be able to summon monsters and stuff," he said quickly.  
  
Hiei raised an eyebrow, somewhat interested.  
  
"And just who is this...Yugi?" he asked.  
  
Joey grinned, looking important.  
  
"I'll take you to the great King of Games!" he declared, turning in the direction of Yugi's place. "Follow me, demon-boy!"  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter Six  
  
^_^ REVIEW!  
  
Red: Yep-yep!  
  
Priest Seto: And next chapter up soon. ^_^ 


	7. Chapter Seven: Replacement

Chapter Seven: Replacement  
  
Notes: ^-^ Thanks for reviewing, once again.  
  
Red: *humming* Oh yeah, and this is chapter seventeen. ^^;  
  
Priest Seto: o_o; Seventeen? I think it's just seven...  
  
-_-; Okay then. Here we go! ^_^  
  
*************  
  
Chapter Seven: Replacement  
  
Seto sighed as he and Mokuba walked down the street once again, this time Mokuba looked more depressed than before. The prospect of having to meet with Dr. Liz once again was evening more frightening than the initial visit, especially after what she said about being a psychiatrist.  
  
Mokuba cast a glance up at his older brother, but Seto looked lost in thought as he turned a corner, gripping the handle of his metal briefcase. Priest Seto was lagging behind, still pondering about Kuwabara and the strange demon he'd mentioned.  
  
Could that be the next presence the priest could sense in Domino? No, it couldn't be. That sense felt only like a Millennium Item. A dark item, yes, but all the same, it probably wasn't linked to the strange boy's situation.  
  
"Or was it?" The priest thought to himself, feeling confused now.  
  
As the three walked in silence back toward the Kaiba Mansion, Priest Seto sighed, his thoughts returning to Egypt...and their last visit to his homeland. They had been fighting against the Vampire Lord at the time, but they had visited the Ishtars as well. During the evening in which they'd spent the night at the Ishtar's, Priest Seto remembered the conversation he'd had with Ishizu.  
  
~ "But you're different. You're not linked to anyone or anything...so why are you here...?" ~  
  
Sighing, the priest realized it was true. His only purpose, in fact, was to be Bastet's watchdog in Japan and keep an eye on the Millennium Item owners. He wanted to fulfill his duty to the Pharaoh and help him find his lost memory. His other self-given mission was to protect Seto and Mokuba, and he had to admit he'd grown quite fond of the two brothers. It was the best "family," if it could be called that, the priest could ask for.  
  
But the problem nagging at the priest's mind every so often was when Bastet decided she had no more use for the priest...  
  
What would happen then?  
  
************  
  
Tea blinked, catching sight of Amber, Duke, and Pearl crossing the street. Smiling, she waved, hoping to get their attention.  
  
"Hey! Amber! Pearl!" she called, running toward them, the threesome turning around and grinning as they spotted their friend.  
  
"Hi Tea," Amber said cheerfully, smiling at the brown-haired girl as she approached. "What's up?"  
  
Tea sighed, looking around.   
  
"I'm heading for Yugi's place," she announced, looking up at them. "And you guys?"  
  
Duke chuckled.  
  
"What a coincidence," he replied, twirling a lock of his black hair around his index finger. "We're headed for Yugi's ourselves."  
  
Tea blinked.  
  
"Really?" she asked. "Oh...well, cool."  
  
Pearl sighed, tapping her foot impatiently as she turned around, bored with listen to her cousin, Duke, and Tea talk in Japanese. She blinked as she caught sight of two girls turning the corner, both of whom looked lost. Interested, Pearl listened closely, trying to decipher what the two were saying.  
  
"I still think we should have gone in the other direction..." A shorter girl with mint-green hair tied back with a red ribbon murmured, looking around nervously. "I don't see any of them around here..."  
  
The other girl, taller with brown hair, sighed, looking down at a piece of paper she was holding in her hands.  
  
"This map isn't a very good one either," she grumbled, sighing and tracing their route. "We should have come to an intersection with a theater two blocks ago. Why can't they just tell us when they're going traveling next time instead of making us squeeze the information out of Botan...?"  
  
The mint-haired girl sighed, closing her eyes.  
  
"It doesn't look like we're going to be finding them anytime soon, I suppose," she said sadly. "What should we do in the meantime?"  
  
Pearl blinked, catching bits and pieces of their conversation.  
  
"Guess they're tourists," Pearl muttered, turning back to Amber, Duke, and Tea, all of whom were now headed across the street. "Hey! Wait for me!" she yelled, waving her hand as she ran after them.  
  
***********  
  
Across the street, Uroko narrowed his eye at the three girls and Duke, and then glanced up the streets and spotted the other two girls who had been looking down at the map.  
  
"Ah..." he murmured, the Millennium Eye's powers kicking in and enabling him to read their hearts. "The four over there are apparently friends of the one who owned the eye I stole. Perhaps they have other items similar to it as well. And..." he turned to look at the other two girls. "The two girls are friends of the Spirit Detective...perfect."  
  
Uroko reached into his coat and pulled out several glowing orbs, holding them in between his fingers like small daggers.  
  
"Endangering their lives might cause the ones I seek to come out into the open..." he murmured, preparing to come out of the alley.  
  
"Uroko..." Came a voice inside his head, and the green-skinned demon stopped in his tracks.  
  
"Y...yes master?" he asked, his voice quavering.  
  
"I'm sending out the rest of my servants to aid you," Atokata's voice rang through the demon's mind. "They should arrive in the human city this evening. For now, finish off those you can and rob them of their powers as well. I sense many great forces of magic in this city; all of which may become useful for my purposes."  
  
Uroko nodded.  
  
"Yes master," he replied before slinking out of the alley and into the street.  
  
Pearl gulped, her pearl lighting up around her neck as something blue and small was hurled through the air and landed in front of Duke, Tea, and Amber, exploding and sending all four of them flying backwards into the wall and street.  
  
A car slammed on its brakes and swerved out of the way to avoid hitting Tea, who scrambled up on the sidewalk, choking on dust and debris from the explosion.  
  
"Wh...what was that?" she coughed, trying to find Duke, Amber and Pearl in the confusion.  
  
The brown-haired girl across the street blinked, looking over at the mess worriedly.  
  
"What happened over there...?" she muttered before another blue orb came into sight in front of her. "Oh no!"  
  
The mint-haired girl narrowed her eyes, the pupils vanishing as they turned a solid yellowish color. A chilly wind blew by and the orb that had been hurtling toward them froze in midair.  
  
Pearl gaped, pulling herself to her feet.  
  
"SHE froze that orb!" she cried, pointing over at the mint-haired girl, who looked relieved as the frozen orb fell harmlessly to the ground.  
  
Duke grabbed Pearl's hand and pulled her toward the wall.  
  
"And there's another one heading our way!" he cried, Pearl's pearl lighting up and the orb that had been flying toward them freezing as well, smashing into the wall and cracking into hundreds of pieces.  
  
"Thanks, Yukina," The brown-haired girl called in a rush as she grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her across the street, noticing the green-skinned demon throwing the orbs from the alley. "We'd better get out of here!"  
  
Yukina, however, tilted her head at Pearl, who had now locked eyes with the ice-apparition.  
  
"Strange..." she murmured as she allowed the brown-haired girl to pull her across the street. "Keiko...that white-haired girl froze one of the orbs too..."  
  
Keiko blinked, looking over at Tea, Duke, Amber, and Pearl, all of whom were now headed their way, trying to dodge orbs which were now exploding all around them.  
  
"Are you sure? Maybe you just froze another one without realizing i..." she started, but trailed off with a cry as an orb exploded at her feet, blowing dust and bits of rock up into her face.  
  
Duke gritted his teeth, noticing the two girls.  
  
"Amber," he called, pulling a handful of dice out of his pocket. "You and Tea go and get those girls out of here, and I'll see if I can't stall this creep, okay?"  
  
Amber nodded as another orb exploded on the wall, showering all those nearby in bits of brick.  
  
**********  
  
Yugi blinked, looking into the distance over a building an seeing a cloud of dust rise, and a strange explosion that shook the ground thundering by. Bakura stumbled, all five pointers on his Millennium Ring suddenly pointing directly in front of them; at the other side of the building.  
  
"There must be some sort of trouble going on over there," Kurama mused, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Bakura's own brown eyes suddenly flickered for a moment before settling back to Bakura's usual friendly gaze. He blinked, squeezing his eyes shut and shaking his head before sighing and looking down at the ground.  
  
Yusuke clenched his fist.  
  
"Maybe that demon's finally shown himself," he declared. "Onward, troops!" he called, breaking into a sprint and heading toward the building.  
  
Yugi narrowed his eyes, switching control with Yami as he started after Yusuke, Kurama behind him. Bakura bit his lip, looking down at the glow ring around his neck nervously, dread washing over him.  
  
"It's happening...again..." he murmured, his brown eyes fearful as he dangled the ring in front of him.  
  
***********  
  
Seto sat down at his desk, calmly typing on his laptop, replying to various e-mails and answering questions that had already been asked fifteen times before. But such was the life of a CEO, he thought to himself, glancing over at the clock.  
  
The visit downtown to Dr. Liz's office wasn't going to pleasant, Seto thought with a sigh. If anything, it was going to be downright horrible. Dr. Liz would stand there and question them until finally he'd just refuse to answer and he and Mokuba would leave. Seto doubted the orange-haired boy would even show up.  
  
Down the hall, Mokuba was knocking over a line of dominos, a bored expression on his face. Priest Seto was sitting on the bed behind him, merely staring out the window, troubled thoughts still running through his mind.  
  
"What's up, Priest?" Mokuba asked, tilting his head to the side as he noticed the priest's anxious appearance.  
  
Priest Seto looked down, startled, and forced a smile to reassure the boy.  
  
"Nothing," he replied, floating toward the ground. "What is this you're playing?"  
  
Mokuba shrugged, rolling over onto his back and staring up at the ceiling.  
  
"Dominos," he muttered, closing his eyes and not speaking for a moment. "I don't want to go back and talk to that weird lady," Mokuba murmured after a minute, Priest Seto raising an eyebrow. "She creeps me out, and she wouldn't understand anything anyway."  
  
Priest Seto smiled.  
  
"Well, do what I always did when dealing with people like that," he suggested, Mokuba raising his head off the ground and looking over at the Egyptian. "Never smile, never nod, just listen to them and in your reply act as if they are a fool."  
  
Mokuba laughed.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Karim sighed, sitting down on the stoop of the temple, glancing down at the Millennium Scales. The gold plating reflected the Egyptian sun above as he stared down at it, confused.  
  
"Dark forces in Japan...and all the item owners are there," he muttered, narrowing his dark eyes. "Then why are we in Egypt? I believe it would do more good to be in the place of the action rather than foreseeing it in another place and doing nothing to aid."  
  
"That's a wise statement," Came a casual voice from behind him, and the young man turned around to see the black cat, Bastet, slinking toward him, her yellow eyes narrowed. "Unfortunately for you, it's not original in its thought."  
  
Karim raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked, slightly confused.  
  
Bastet sat down, curling her tail around her.  
  
"I realized that myself last summer," she replied darkly, sighing as she closed her eyes. "Unfortunately, my representative has changed much since then."  
  
Karim's eyes widened.  
  
"You mean you've already sent someone to watch after the Millennium Item business in Japan?" he inquired.  
  
Bastet nodded.  
  
"Indeed," she replied, staring out into the distance on the vast desert plain. "The spirit of a high priest. However, his own past ties to his life and his sense of duty make his original job become the background. He no longer focuses on his informing me and gathering the items together once more, but takes his time on this Earth to complete what he never did."  
  
Karim nodded slowly.  
  
"I see," he replied.  
  
Bastet laughed half-heartedly.  
  
"The fool acts as if he can right the wrongs of the past by himself half the time," she scoffed, growing serious once more. "In any event, his usefulness declines each day, and I am in need of a new representative."  
  
Karim's eyes brightened as he looked over at Bastet cautiously.  
  
"Bastet..." he asked slowly. "Are you suggesting...?"  
  
Bastet smirked.  
  
"You catch on quick, don't you?" she asked. "Yes. I am. If you're ready, you can leave at dawn."  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter Seven  
  
REVIEW!!  
  
Red: -_-; And the next chapter WILL be up SOON, even if I have to drag SK to the computer and tie her down.  
  
Priest Seto: X_X!! First the demon business, and now I'm losing my job!  
  
^^; 


	8. Chapter Eight: Shadows

Chapter Eight: Shadows  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for the reviews!  
  
Red: Chapter...  
  
Priest Seto: Eight. ^^ Chapter Eight is now posted!  
  
Hm...if Bastet fires you, you could always become my new partner.  
  
Red: ! HEY!  
  
Priest Seto: ...  
  
************  
  
Chapter Eight: Shadows  
  
"Take this!" Duke growled, thrusting a fistful of dice at the strange, green-skinned bomb-thrower, his green eyes narrowed.  
  
Uroko flinched, expecting some sort of explosion or powerful inpact from the dice, but upon contact, he realized they were little more deadly than if the boy had thrown a pebble at him.  
  
"Foolish human," Uroko grinned, the high collars of his coat falling down so that his goblin-like face was revealed. "You cannot stop the inevitable with rocks."  
  
Duke gasped, and so did Tea as the two recognized the golden eye that had replaced one of Uroko's.  
  
"It's...the Millennium Eye!" Tea cried, her blue eyes wide.  
  
Keiko blinked, stepping backward and tripping over a lose brick as Amber and Pearl approached the two.  
  
"Ow!" she winced, rubbing her elbow as Amber reached out a hand to help her.  
  
"Come on," Amber hissed, pulling Keiko up and dragging her behind a car. "It's not safe out here."  
  
"I figured after the guy started throwing bombs at us," Keiko replied, raising an eyebrow as she, Yukina, Pearl, and Amber ducked down behind the blue convertible.  
  
"Millennium what?" Yukina asked, peering out at Uroko, Tea, and Duke as Uroko conjured up another blue, glowing orb, aiming at Duke.  
  
"Millennium Eye..." Amber murmured, biting her lip. "Duke get out of there!" she yelled, not wanting the black-haired boy to get hurt.  
  
Duke didn't need telling twice. Grabbing Tea's hand, he pulled the brown-haired girl along with him as he sprinted into an alley, just in time to dodge the blue orb, which smashed into the sidewalk in front of a beauty salon doorway.  
  
A blonde-haired woman who had been opening the door gasped, pulling it shut to avoid getting nailed with pieces of flying cement before opening it back up again and peering out into the dust.  
  
"What in the world is going on out here?" Came a familiar voice as the blonde-haired woman looked around, curiously. "Was it just me, or did the sidewalk just spontaneously combust?"  
  
Tea's fearful eyes widened as she leaned against the cold brick wall in the alley.  
  
"Is that...?" she started, but Duke had already poked his head out of the alley, having recognized the voice.  
  
"Mai!" he yelled at the blonde-haired woman, who was toting a small purple shopping bag as she put a hand to her hip. "Get back inside! It's not safe out here!"  
  
Mai blinked, looking over at Duke strangely.  
  
"Not safe?" she asked, walking toward him, tilting her head to the side. "What are you talking about, Duke? And come to think of it, why are you hiding in an alley?"  
  
Uroko grinned, pulling out another orb. Duke shook his head wildly.  
  
"Don't come any closer, Mai!" he yelled. "Run!"  
  
************  
  
Dr. Liz walked briskly up a set of brightly lit stairs, smiling to herself.  
  
"This is just the break we've been looking for," she murmured, her high-heeled shoes clacking on the hard steps as she reached a door and pulled it open.  
  
Quickly, she walked down the hallway, her blonde hair streaming behind her as she approached the last office on the wall. A gold plaque on the brown door read Doctor Wayne Jary. Smiling, she lightly tapped on the door.  
  
"Come in," Came a muffled voice, and Dr. Liz gasped the cold doorknob and pulled the door open, revealing a neat and tidy-looking office.  
  
Sitting at the desk was a middle-aged man with small glasses, a white lab-coat-like jacket and neatly combed brown hair. He put down the stack of papers he had been going through and looked up at Dr. Liz expectantly.  
  
"Well?" he asked after a moment, raising an eyebrow. "Have you found what I'm looking for, at last?"  
  
Dr. Liz smirked, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"Yes, I believe I have," she replied smartly, looking over at the doctor with her malevolent eyes. "I thought that woman you spoke to was a nut, but it appears she was correct."  
  
Dr. Wayne smiled, pleased, folding his hands on top of the desk.  
  
"You must learn to be more broad-minded, Elizabeth," he replied simply, a strange twinkle in his eye. "There is more to this world than you think, and that meets the eye. You have to hunt for the answers to the unknown and unexplored."  
  
Dr. Liz wrinkled her nose.  
  
"Whatever," she replied, brushing her blonde bangs out of her face. "If it's newly discovered, people will pay for it. That's all I care about. Anyway, during an appointment this morning two of my patients appeared to be speaking to a "ghost" in the room, and a strange teenage burst in during the last few minutes and was able to conjure a sword of light out of apparently nothing."  
  
Dr. Wayne raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Intriguing," he admitted, his strange smile still present. "And did you call them back for a second appointment?"  
  
Dr. Liz nodded.  
  
"I told them to meet at my office in this building this evening," she replied airily. "Around 6:00. You can "conveniently" pop in and inspect them all you like. The two don't have any other family and I don't think anyone will miss the teenager."  
  
Dr. Wayne smiled, jotting something down in his notebook.  
  
"I will indeed be there," he replied, smirking. "And maybe my investment in that woman's information will be worth my while at last."  
  
"Hmph," Dr. Liz huffed, turning around on her heel and starting for the door.  
  
"If these three turn out to be anything at all, Liz," Dr. Wayne called after her, lowering his glasses slightly. "You can expect a "bonus" in this month's pay."  
  
Dr. Liz smirked, opening the door.  
  
"I have a feeling they will be," she replied. "And this bonus better be something special. It's not easy to smile for brats in a pediatrician's office all day."  
  
Dr. Wayne chuckled.  
  
"I will speak with you later, Liz," he replied, turning around and looking out the window, still smiling eerily.  
  
************  
  
Yusuke skidded to a stop in the middle of the street, Yami, who was following behind, smashing into him.  
  
"Ouch, sorry," Yami muttered, stepping away from the black-haired boy and following his gaze down to the end of the road where Uroko was preparing to throw another orb, this time at Mai.  
  
Yami gasped, raising both eyebrows as Kurama and Bakura hurried up behind them.  
  
"The Millennium Eye!" Yami cried, seeing the eye in the demon's socket, the gold plating glinting in the sunlight.  
  
Yusuke cracked his knuckles.  
  
"Looks like we've found our demon," he grinned, turning to Kurama. "How should we approach this guy?"  
  
"Mai!" Duke yelled again, the blonde-haired girl looking over at the demon behind her, confused.  
  
"Whoa!" she cried, stumbling backwards as Uroko grinned maliciously. "What the heck are you?"  
  
  
  
Kurama narrowed his eyes.  
  
"Get those nearby out of the way," he instructed to Yugi and Bakura. "We can handle the demon."  
  
Yami narrowed his eyes and looked over at Kurama.  
  
  
  
"I don't know much about this demon you are hunting," he said seriously. "But I do know about monsters. Never underestimate them, and definitely do not take the powers the Millennium Eye can grant lightly."  
  
"Thanks for the advice," Yusuke called, running over to the demon to attack.  
  
Kurama sighed, pulling out a rose from behind his red hair and using his spirit energy to transform it into a whip. Yami pulled out his deck and shuffled through, coming upon a trustworthy card.  
  
"Dark Magician!" Yami declared, the puzzle lighting up and glowing as the purple-clad magician appeared in front of them. "It's not that I don't believe in your powers," Yami explained to Kurama, who looked rather curiously over at the Dark Magician. "But in case you need help, my magician will be happy to aid."  
  
Kurama nodded.  
  
"Thank you," he replied, the Dark Magician and he also running after Yusuke to join the fight.  
  
Duke gritted his teeth, running out from the sanctuary of the alley and grabbing Mai's hand, pulling her out of the way of the orb's path as it crashed into the ground, sending both of them flying backwards into the convertible.  
  
"Duke!" Amber cried, her eyes wide as she hurried out to help the two.  
  
Pearl bit her lip, looking around and spotting Yami, Bakura, the Dark Magician, and Yusuke and Kurama, although she didn't recognize the last two, or consider them helping in the mission.  
  
"Great! It's Yugi and Bakura, and they've summoned a Duel Monster to help us out!" Pearl cried, pointing out the spiky-haired boy to Keiko and Yukina, both of whom turned to see.  
  
Keiko gasped.  
  
"And Yusuke!" she cried, her eyes widening.  
  
Yukina nodded, her brownish-red eyes also widened.  
  
"Do you think they will be able to defeat the monster alone, or should I aid them with some of my ice powers?" she asked.  
  
Keiko shrugged, still somewhat surprised to see two of the boys they'd been searching for suddenly appear.  
  
"You have ice powers too?!" Pearl cried, looking over at Yukina, shocked.  
  
The mint-haired ice apparition nodded, looking surprised.  
  
"Yes," she replied in her soft voice. "I am Yukina of the ice world. And you seem to have powers over the ice element as well. Who are you?"  
  
Pearl grinned.  
  
"I'm Pearl Lark of America," she replied, showing Yukina her necklace with the single pearl. "And my powers come from this special pearl."  
  
Keiko looked completely lost, but gasped as another orb exploded and Yusuke was pelted with flying debris.  
  
"How about you both do whatever you can?" she asked nervously and in a hurry. "They look like they're getting clobbered out there!"  
  
Kurama narrowed his eyes, noticing the three hovering behind the car as he got his whip ready for attack.  
  
"Nonsense," he replied, lashing out at Uroko. "Your assistance is not necessary. I suggest, however, that you get as far away from danger as possible."  
  
Yami nodded, the Dark Magician sending a dark magic attack down at the demon as he grabbed Tea's hand and pulled her out of the alley and away from the battle.  
  
"True," he replied, the green-skinned demon easily dodging both attacks and throwing several orbs at once, two at Kurama and one at Duke and Mai.  
  
Amber reached down and pulled the two to their feet.  
  
"Come on, guys!" she called, pulling them away from the orb's path, letting it hit the front bumper of the car, shards of blue glass flying everywhere.  
  
"My car!" Mai cried, horrified as Amber, Duke, and she hurried over to where Pearl, Yukina, and Keiko were.  
  
"Be glad it's not you!" Amber retorted, biting her lip as Kurama leapt over the two orbs, allowing them to further tarnish Mai's once perfect car, and landing on the hood.  
  
"Watch it!" Mai shouted at the red-haired demon, who turned around. "You'll dent it!"  
  
Keiko raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I think that's the least of our worries right now," she replied, looking over at the blonde.  
  
Tea nodded as the Dark Magician was hit with one of the orbs, sending him flying backwards into the brick wall. The brown-haired girl bit her lip, looking worriedly over at Yami, who gritted his teeth, his spirit energy being used up rapidly as the magician attacked again.  
  
Kurama narrowed his eyes and lashed out at Uroko, causing the demon to cease his orb throwing and dodge the whip. Meanwhile, Bakura backed up, all the energy swarming around him suddenly making the ring glow brightly.  
  
"No..." he murmured, feeling his control over his own body slipping, and a new presence taking over once more.  
  
Yami Bakura smirked, his eyes narrowing as he took over Bakura's body, the Millennium Ring glowing still. Grinning, he looked around at all the excitement going on with Uroko, the Dark Magician, Kurama, and Yusuke.  
  
  
  
"Looks like I arrived just in time," he murmured to himself, eyeing the Millennium Puzzle that hung around Yugi's neck. "Just in time..."  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter Eight  
  
^_^ REVIEW!!!  
  
Red: Yes, do so. ^^ And next chapter will be up soon!  
  
Priest Seto: o_o; Let's hope so! 


	9. Chapter Nine: Pain

Chapter Nine: Pain  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Red: Yeeeep. And...yeah. Chapter Nine is up.  
  
Priest Seto: O.O *reading new chapter*  
  
^_^; And a little note, Kazuma is Kuwabara's first name, but only Yukina calls him that.  
  
************  
  
Chapter Nine: Pain  
  
Kuwabara walked slowly down the darkening streets, kicking a soda can into a gutter. He was disappointed at not having successfully trailed the demon his team had been after...and had only succeeded in meeting a ghost, two boys, and terrifying a doctor.  
  
"And she wants me to come to her office this evening?" he muttered, glancing around uneasily. "As if. I'm not gonna be bothered with some potentially demonic doctor. She still looked too good to be real."  
  
Grumbling to himself, the orange-haired boy continued down the road.  
  
***********  
  
As Kurama, Yusuke, and the Dark Magician continued their battle against Uroko, a siren wailed behind them as two police cars swerved around the corner, squealing to a halt behind the blue convertible and several officers emerging, guns poised.  
  
"Drop your weapons now!" One officer yelled through a microphone, his voice ringing around the area.  
  
Yusuke gritted his teeth, pointing his index finger at Uroko and a blue glow emitting from it.  
  
"Spirit Gun!" he yelled, a large force of energy bursting from his fingertip and straight for the green-skinned monster. "My "weapon" is my finger, idiot," he muttered. "And I'm not about to drop that."  
  
Kurama nodded, watching Uroko dodge, only to be bombarded by a Dark Magic attack.  
  
"True," he replied, Uroko narrowing his eyes and pulling out a packet of dust.  
  
"I must escape," he muttered, gritting his teeth, even with the Millennium Eye's powers not being able to defeat the three opponents. "I must wait for the backup from Atokata before challenging all these fools again. They are weak alone, but together their powers are formidable."  
  
He threw the packet down at the others, a huge cloud of smoke arising from the ground, and four large demons that looked like copies of Uroko, without the Millennium Eye, appeared, all holding several orbs in their hands.  
  
The real Uroko slipped into the shadows and vanished as the other four confronted Yusuke, Kurama, and Yami's magician.  
  
"Oh no!" Tea cried, biting her lip as she peered over the edge of the convertible at the action that was happening on the side. "There's four of that creep now!"  
  
The officers ducked down, holding their guns out in front of them as Yusuke, Kurama, and the Dark Magician backed up in a row, debating on their next assault plan.  
  
"Drop your weapons!" The officer repeated, narrowing his eyes. "We will open fire in one minute regardless of your position!"  
  
Kurama narrowed his eyes, several orbs coming his way. Tea screamed as one landed in Mai's car, exploding and sending the seat belt and apolstry flying everywhere. Mai gulped, backing up, still holding onto Duke and Amber's arms.  
  
"Mai...your nails are breaking my skin," Amber winced, prying her off as Tea, Keiko, and Yukina backed up too.  
  
Yami, however, stood his ground, his puzzle continuing to glow as the Dark Magician fought on. Bakura, too, hadn't moved, but his eyes were wandering from Yami, to Yusuke, to Kurama, where they paused, his eyes fixated on the red-haired demon.  
  
"Interesting..." Yami Bakura murmured, his frown twisting into a gleeful smile. "This strange person...he is different from the others. Just like myself and Yugi he seems to have an alternate being within him, and by the looks of him, a much stronger one."  
  
Yami Bakura smirked.  
  
"I must investigate this person," he muttered, starting toward Kurama.  
  
Yami narrowed his eyes, having lost track of the real demon's presence.  
  
"He's left," he muttered, gritting his teeth. "Along with the Millennium Eye."  
  
  
  
"Dangit!" Yusuke cried, dodging one Uroko's attack after another. "One leaves and then four more come?! How is this fair?"  
  
"Heh, no one ever said it would be fair, detective," Came a cold voice as Hiei sprinted around the corner, passing by the police officers in a blur of black color.  
  
Behind him, Joey panted heavily as he leaned against the brick wall and pulled himself around the corner.  
  
"Wait...up...kid..." he panted, slumping down to the ground to rest.  
  
Then, his eyes wandered over to the fight, where Kurama was waving his rose whip at two monsters, Yusuke was preparing to fire another spirit gun, the Dark Magician was attack another monster, and Hiei was unsheathing his sword.  
  
"WHOA!" Joey cried, leaping to his feet, noticing the four green demons. "Is THIS the demon you were looking for?!"  
  
Tea, recognizing the blonde-haired boy's voice, looked over at Joey.  
  
"Joey!" she cried, shocked to see him there as well. "Back up! There's a big fight going on here!"  
  
Joey nodded, his eyes wide.  
  
"I can see that!" he called back, watching as Yami shuffled through his deck, looking for another monster to aid in the assault.  
  
A woman who had been walking down the street suddenly screamed as one of the Uroko's lunged at her, dropping all her bags to the ground.  
  
"Fire!" The police officer yelled, and there were several loud gunshots.  
  
Tea screamed, squeezing her eyes shut and looking away.  
  
"Yugi! Get out of there!" Duke yelled, looking concerned for his friend as gunshots rang out all around him, along with the screaming of the woman, who had now taken refuge inside the beauty parlor, and of the monsters as they were shot at and attacked.  
  
Joey ran up to the officers, furious.  
  
"Stop shooting! My friend's in all that mess up there!" he yelled, his brown eyes wide and angry.  
  
The officers ignored Joey, and the blonde boy clenched his fists, looking out into the dust cloud that was rising around all the monsters and the fighters, making it nearly impossible to tell who was still standing and who had fallen.  
  
Yami Bakura grinned, lunging at Kurama, who was looking around, confused, and bringing the red-haired boy crashing to the ground in an alley. Kurama cried out, wondering who it was that had been attacking him, but he didn't get much of a chance to fight back as the two were suddenly pushed by some unknown force down the alley at an alarming rate, both boys now clueless as to what was going on.  
  
"What's going on?!" Kurama cried, shielding his eyes from all the dust that was flying up at them as Yami Bakura narrowed his eyes, wondering.  
  
***********  
  
Back at the fight, Hiei cornered one of the Uroko-clones in an alley, and was advancing on the beast when suddenly a burning pain ripped through his side, and he stopped, putting his hand to his side, wincing.  
  
The green-skinned demon smirked, taking advantage of his opponent's delay, and hurled a brick that had been broken and left in the alley at him. The brick collided with Hiei's head, and the black-haired demon fell to the ground, unconscious.  
  
Keiko looked around wildly as the dust began to clear and the gunshots died down, hoping that Yusuke, or any of the others hadn't been hit, both by the bullets and by the demons.  
  
As the dust cleared, two figures came into view, and Tea sighed with relief, seeing Yugi in the middle of the mess, the Dark Magician finishing off one of the Urokos. Yusuke was standing near two other defeated Urokos, and a third was sprawled on the sidewalk, dead.  
  
"Well, that wasn't too difficult," Yusuke muttered, looking rather beat-up after the fight.  
  
"Yugi!" Tea cried, running over toward the boy, Yami having switched places with the regular Yugi, the Dark Magician vanishing. "Oh Yugi, I was so worried about you!"  
  
Tea grabbed the unwary Yugi and hugged him tightly, causing the boy's eyes to practically bulge.  
  
"Ow! Oh, hi Tea...!" Yugi panted, finding it a little hard to breath with her squeezing him. "I'm okay, really!"  
  
"Thanks a lot, Yami!" Yugi cried mentally, Yami chuckling.  
  
Keiko sighed, walking over toward Yusuke.  
  
"Yusuke," she said in a forced-calm voice, and for the first time that day, Yusuke cringed.  
  
"Y...yes, Keiko?" he asked kindly, grinning a nervous smile.  
  
  
  
"You did it again," Keiko said, still smiling forcefully.  
  
Yusuke blinked, confused.  
  
"Did what again?" he asked, looking at the brown-haired girl curiously.  
  
"Left on another one of your cases without telling me!" Keiko shouted back at him.  
  
Yusuke scratched his cheek nervously.  
  
"Oh! That!" he cried, as if just remembering. "Well...you know how short-notice Koenma can be...right Kurama?"  
  
Yusuke turned around, expecting to see the whip-wielding demon behind him, but to his surprise, Kurama was nowhere in sight. Yugi pushed Tea off, also realizing that someone was missing.  
  
"Where's Bakura?" Yugi called, looking around nervously, wondering what could have happened to him.  
  
Duke blinked, looking around at the others that were crowded near the corner.  
  
"Let's see, Amber, Mai, Pearl...and this little green-haired girl," he muttered, counting heads. "Bakura's not over here!"  
  
Yusuke narrowed his eyes.  
  
"I'll bet those four demon jerks were a decoy so that the stupid leader could kidnap part of our team!" he cried, the police officers walking over to the scene of the accident.  
  
"Well, we've got to find them!" Yugi declared, running down the street, looking around. "Bakura? Kurama?"  
  
  
  
Yusuke nodded, taking off after Yugi, not about to let some demon get away with kidnapping one of his teammates. Tea sighed, walking up to where Keiko was standing.  
  
"Is this usual for you too?" she asked Keiko, who nodded with a sigh, looking worried.  
  
"Yeah, unfortunately," she muttered, adjusting her backpack strap, which had begun to droop. "Should we follow them, Yukina?" she asked, turning around and facing the mint-haired girl, who nodded.  
  
"Yes, we probably should," she replied, looking around nervously. "But I haven't seen Kazuma...or that other boy that fights with them. Do you think they're okay?"  
  
Keiko shrugged.  
  
"Let's hope so," she replied, running after Yusuke, Yugi, and Tea.  
  
Duke sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets.  
  
"Guess we follow, huh?" he asked Mai and Amber, who were standing next to him.  
  
Amber nodded.  
  
"There's not much else we can do," she replied. "I mean, if Bakura's been kidnapped, we've got to help get him back. Besides...Pearl's already up there!"  
  
It was true. The white-haired girl was running after Yukina, eager to talk to her about her ice powers.  
  
"Thank goodness my Japanese is getting a little better," Pearl grumbled as she caught up with the mint-haired girl. "Unfortunately, I forgot the word for ice."  
  
************  
  
Back at the accident scene, police officers and construction workers were hauling the dead demons aside, trying to get them off the road as quickly as possible, so not to alarm citizens.  
  
"This is absurd," One officer grumbled, walking back toward his car near an alley. "This has got to be the fourth magic-involving incident in Domino in four months! What is the world coming to these days...?"  
  
The officer trailed off, noticing something black sprawled on the ground in the alley. Raising an eyebrow he walked over to investigate.  
  
"What're you doing?" One of the other officers, who had opened up a soda and was getting back in his patrol car, called.  
  
The officer in the alley sighed as he bent down to investigate the figure.  
  
"Great, this is the last thing we need," he grumbled before standing back up again. "Looks like some idiot kid got in the way during the attack on those monsters and got hit with a stray bullet."  
  
The officer in the vehicle nearly dropped his soda.  
  
"You're saying we shot a kid?" he asked, climbing out of the patrol car and pulling out his phone. "This isn't going to look good on the evening news. Is he still alive?"  
  
The first officer nodded.  
  
"Yeah, better call someone down here on this one," he muttered folding his arms across his chest.  
  
************  
  
Seto walked toward the front door, his briefcase in hand, Mokuba following slowly after him.  
  
"Do we HAVE to do this, niisama?" he asked, gulping. "That lady was pretty wacky, and I didn't like how she kept looking at me."  
  
Seto shrugged.  
  
"We don't really have a choice here, Mokuba," he replied. "Button your jacket. Priest! We're going now."  
  
Priest Seto floated out into the hallway, tilting his head to the side.  
  
"To speak to that woman again?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.  
  
  
  
Seto nodded, pulling the door open. Mokuba screamed, backing up from the door. Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"What's wrong with you, Mokuba?" he asked, turning to the doorway, where he saw a tall, dark figure standing on the porch, something large and shiny in his hands.  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 9  
  
REVIEW! ^_^!  
  
Red: Yeah, yeah, please do. And next chapter up tomorrow or Sunday.  
  
  
  
Priest Seto: o_o; Who's at the door? 


	10. Chapter Ten: Discovery

Chapter Ten: Discovery  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing! ^^; And Pearl isn't very good with Japanese yet, so it's easy for her to forget stuff.  
  
Red: And here is chapter...10!  
  
Priest Seto: X_X!  
  
************  
  
Chapter Ten: Discovery  
  
Mokuba gasped and staggered backwards, shocked as the dark figure in the doorway walked forward a little. Seto narrowed his eyes, reaching out and turning on the outside light, illuminating the figure on their doorstep.  
  
Behind them, Priest Seto's eyes widened as he recognized the figure standing there, and the item in his hands.  
  
"It...it can't be!" he gasped. "Karim..."  
  
Karim raised an eyebrow, balancing the Millennium Scales on his left hand as he extended his right to shake Seto's.  
  
"I am Karim, from Egypt," he explained as Seto glared skeptically at him. "I apologize if I startled you or your younger brother, but I was sent here by Bastet."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Bastet? What for?" he asked as Karim's eyes wandered over to Priest Seto, who still looked shocked.  
  
"Do I know you?" Karim asked, tilting his head to the side curiously.  
  
Priest Seto sighed, shaking his head no.  
  
"No, you don't," he replied simply, realizing that this must be Karim's reincarnate, and the modern possessor of the seventh and final Millennium Item.  
  
Karim stared for a moment at the priest, studying him. Then he looked back at Seto, who looked irritated.  
  
"I'm sorry for the rude interruption," Karim apologized again. "But I was sent by Bastet to speak with the high priest, Seto, of the ancient times."  
  
Priest Seto's eyebrows went up.  
  
  
  
"Speak to me?" he asked, confused now. "Why?"  
  
Seto sighed, uncrossing his arms and letting them fall to his side.  
  
"We need to be getting somewhere," he said impatiently to the Egyptian man, and Karim bit his lip nervously, not wanting to cause any problems on his first mission from Bastet herself.  
  
"I need to speak with the priest and the priest alone," Karim repeated. "You may go on your way, and if you distrust me in your home without your presence, we can speak outside."  
  
Mokuba raised an eyebrow as Seto nodded, walking past Karim, who stepped aside to let the brown-haired boy pass.  
  
"Fine then," he replied. "We'll be home soon, priest."  
  
Priest Seto nodded, floating outside after Mokuba, Karim closing the front door and turning around the face Priest Seto, his Millennium Item shining in his hands as Seto walked down to one of the cars and got in.  
  
"So, you are Bastet's appointed-one for patrolling Domino, Japan, are you not?" Karim asked solemnly, Priest Seto nodding in reply.  
  
"I am," he replied. "But why are you here?"  
  
Karim looked down at his Millennium Scales.  
  
"To send you home," he replied simply, Priest Seto's eyes widening.  
  
************  
  
Joey looked around as the police officers were getting back in their cars, all of the monsters having been cleared away.  
  
"I hope for our sake the kid's parents don't sue us or something," One of the officers was grumbling as he stepped into his vehicle. "Honestly, we DID give several warnings before we started firing."  
  
Joey gulped.  
  
"Whoa, you shot a kid?!" Joey cried, sprinting over to the officers nervously.  
  
Joey hadn't noticed Yugi and the others take off earlier, but now realized that none of them were around anymore. Neither were the girls, or even Mai. Her totaled convertible was still resting at the sidewalk, looking as though a dinosaur had just stepped on it.  
  
  
  
The police officer looked out his window at Joey, looking irritated. The last thing he wanted to be doing that evening was talking to some punk about one of their mistakes.  
  
"Someone was injured during the battle, but completely on their own accord," he replied coldly, getting ready to roll up the window again, but Joey put his hand on the glass to stop him.  
  
"No wait, I don't care whose fault it is, but can you tell me what he or she looked like? Cause a bunch of my friends were hanging out nearby, and I'm a little worried, you know?" Joey asked, biting his lip, hoping that Yugi or any of the gang hadn't been hurt.  
  
The officer sighed in exasperation, but he could understand Joey's concern.  
  
"Er...just a short, black-haired kid," he muttered uneasily. "Wearing all black too. Not a good thing to be doing in the evening hours."  
  
Joey stepped back from the car, thinking.  
  
"Heh, no one's shorter than Yugi," he muttered, putting his hand to chin. "So I guess it wasn't anyone I know."  
  
"Though..." Joey muttered, remembering the demon he'd been following around earlier. "Nah, he was too fast. I'd better go find Yugi and the others, though," he muttered, sprinting down the road, hoping to catch up with them, before trouble found them first.  
  
***********  
  
Kurama and Yami Bakura continued being pulled as if by a magnetic force through alleys and streets, and up a hill in Domino Park. Kurama narrowed his green eyes, shoving Yami Bakura off of him, causing whatever force that had been holding them to break, and they both tumbled to the dewy grass.  
  
"What are you doing, Bakura?" Kurama asked seriously, pulling himself to his feet and narrowing his eyes at what he had thought to be his friend.  
  
Yami Bakura chuckled, getting to his feet as well, the Millennium Ring's glow illuminating his face.  
  
"Well now, I'm afraid that I am no longer Bakura," Yami Bakura grinned, chuckling.   
  
Kurama's eyebrows went up.  
  
"So it is like I suspected," he thought to himself, glaring at Yami Bakura. "That boy Bakura was not the sole controller of his body. Instead, it appears that this person, whoever he may be, also can control the body."  
  
Yami Bakura grinned.  
  
"I am the spirit of the Millennium Ring," he explained, circling Kurama, eyeing him. "But I sense that you too are not the only spirit in your body. Or at least, this is not your only form."  
  
Kurama clenched his fists, circling Yami Bakura as well, not wanting to trust this strange person.  
  
"Why have you taken over this boy's body?" Kurama asked, wondering what use a teenage body would be to a spirit of an item.  
  
Yami Bakura scowled.  
  
"Bakura is an idiot fool who trusts that his friends will answer all his problems," he explained. "Whereas my mission is to collect the Millennium Items and use their powers to begin my reign over Egypt, and soon all of the world as well."  
  
Kurama raised an eyebrow.  
  
"I had captured the Millennium Eye, but as SOON as that foolish boy saw it in the drawer, he immediately tried to take it to Yugi," Yami Bakura continued. "Of course, in the process, so I gather, a demonic being took the eye...and is now using those powers that SHOULD have been mine."  
  
"So that's why that boy was in such a hurry to get that eye to his friend..." Kurama murmured, glaring at Yami Bakura. "Otherwise you'd take over once more and use the powers for evil."  
  
  
  
Yami Bakura grinned.  
  
"Figured that out?" he asked sarcastically, a bright glow shining out from the ring and onto Kurama, who squinted, shielding his eyes from the light with his hand. "Let's hope that the other being in your is more of a challenge than you!"  
  
***********  
  
"Kurama!" Yusuke called, biting his lip as he looked around Domino station.  
  
"Bakura!" Tea called, tapping on the door of the building, but the sign on the door read "CLOSED." "Oh, it's no use. They're just not here."  
  
Duke crossed his arms over his chest, thinking.  
  
  
  
"That just doesn't make sense," he muttered. "That demon guy had to have made off with them. That's why he sent in the decoys, right?"  
  
Amber sat down on the bench next to Pearl and Yukina, both of whom were in the middle of a conversation.  
  
"So, you an ice demon?" Pearl asked, blinking. "Cool!"  
  
Yukina blushed slightly.  
  
"In some ways, I suppose," she replied modestly. "I just wish I could be more of a help sometimes."  
  
  
  
Pearl nodded.  
  
"Boy, I know what that feels like," she replied, leaning back against the bench and looking up at the stars in the sky above. "But I think we did okay back at that demon-scene, don't you?"  
  
Yukina looked sad as she looked up at the sky as well.  
  
"We did okay, I guess," she replied. "I just wish we could find your friend and the others."  
  
Amber nodded.  
  
"That's why we just gotta keep looking, I guess," she replied, standing up again.  
  
Keiko's shoulders sagged as she shifted her bookbag around on her back again. There was a rustling noise from inside and she gasped, pulling it off her back and unzipping it.  
  
"What's wrong?" Yugi asked, tilting his head to the side, the Millennium Puzzle glinting in the streetlight.  
  
Keiko rummaged around in the bag and pulled out what appeared to be a small, blue stuffed bird of some sort with long ears and short stubby arms. The little bird, which Yugi had thought was stuffed, whined as Keiko pulled it out.  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry Puu," she muttered apologetically, brushing it off. "I forgot you were in there."  
  
Yusuke rolled his eyes.  
  
"Oh, you just forgot about him," he muttered sarcastically. "How am I supposed to know you're taking good care of my Spirit Beast?"  
  
Keiko glared back at him as Pearl walked curiously up to the little bird-like creature.  
  
"Because it's heck of a lot safer in my backpack than it is with you," she retorted as Pearl patted the monster on the head.  
  
"It's kinda goofy-looking," Pearl observed.  
  
"Puu," The little bird-like creature squeaked.  
  
Yugi chuckled before growing serious again.  
  
"It's a very interesting creature, but is it going to help us find Kurama and Bakura?" he asked, the puzzle still shining in the light from the streetlamp. "It's too bad Bakura took the ring with him, or would could use it's powers to help us out."  
  
Duke nodded as Joey suddenly ran up to them, panting.  
  
  
  
"Hey guys," he panted, looking worn-out from his run. "Is everybody here? Cause the police officer was acting like they shot somebody."  
  
Mai gasped.  
  
"This city isn't safe anymore!" she huffed, putting her hands on her hips.  
  
Yusuke raised an eyebrow.  
  
"It was EVER safe with you people around?" he asked sarcastically. "You seem to attract trouble."  
  
Joey clenched his fists.  
  
"Oh yeah? Well it seems you and your demon-hunting team brought that ugly green demon to OUR lovely city, so don't go blaming us for your mistakes!" he retorted.  
  
"We chased it here! IT came here on it's own!" Yusuke yelled back, he and Joey now only inches away from each other, both looking daggers at the other.  
  
"Whoa!" Yugi cried, coming up in between the two, Mai pulling Joey back and Keiko pulling Yusuke in the opposite direction. "Look, no matter whose fault this is, BOTH of our friends are missing and we both want to get that demon for different reasons, so we're just going to have to work together to solve this, okay?"  
  
Yusuke huffed, pushing Keiko off of him.  
  
"Whatever," he grumbled, shoving his hands into his pockets. "Where the heck did Kuwabara and Hiei run off to?" he thought to himself.  
  
Joey gritted his teeth.  
  
"So long as we get Bakura back safe and sound and get the Millennium Eye back too, I'm happy," he growled.  
  
  
  
Yugi sweatdropped.  
  
"Okay then, for the time being, we're a team!" he declared, glancing edgily over at Joey and Yusuke.  
  
Duke nodded with a grin.  
  
"Right," he agreed. "Let's get searching!"  
  
************  
  
Over at the Domino Hospital, Dr. Liz walked down the stairs onto the main floor, which was busy with emergencies and people running back and forth all over the place. The blonde-haired woman passed the front desk where a black-haired woman in her early twenties was typing at the front desk, writing up a report. Her eyes lit up as she watched the sulky doctor walk by.  
  
"Doctor Liz!" she exclaimed, standing up and pushing a stack of papers aside. "I'm so glad you're here! I've got something amazing to tell you."  
  
Dr. Liz kept walking, narrowing her eyes as the younger woman followed eagerly.  
  
"I have an appointment with a few people this evening, Maggie," she snapped. "I don't have time for this."  
  
Maggie shook her head, point to a file she'd just finished filling out.  
  
"No, no, really! You'll be interested in this!" she panted, catching up with Dr. Liz as the two walked down the hallway together. "You know how you said your employer likes to examine, well, odd patients? Well, I think I found one for you!"  
  
Dr. Liz huffed.  
  
"We're not talking about double-jointed people here, Maggie," she scoffed. "What Dr. Wayne is interested in is something on a completely different level, and I've already found some, thank you very much. Now get back to the desk before some emergency happens and you're needed."  
  
With that, Dr. Liz strode by and pushed the elevator button, leaving Maggie in the hallway. Sighing as Dr. Liz got into the elevator and closed the doors, Maggie brushed a strand of her black hair behind her and looked down at the patient she'd just finished filing.  
  
"Well, it wasn't exactly double-joints that I was talking about either," she muttered, wondering why Liz had been in such a snappish mood lately. "Oh well..." she muttered, turning around and walking back to the desk.  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 10  
  
^_^ REVIEW!  
  
Red: Yep! Please do!  
  
Priest Seto: ^^ Next chapter up soon! 


	11. Chapter Eleven: Confrontation

Chapter Eleven: Confrontation  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Red: And here's Chapter Eleven!  
  
Priest Seto: *biting his nails* o_o;;  
  
*************  
  
Chapter Eleven: Confrontation  
  
Maggie brushed her black hair out of her face as she tiredly filled out another patient's file and put the pen down on the light blue countertop of her desk. Yawning, she glanced over at the clock. Normally, she wouldn't be so tired at 6:00 in the evening, but lately she'd been getting up early and getting to bed late, and the lack of sleep was catching up with her.  
  
"Guess it's time to check up on little no-name," she muttered, standing up and washing her hands at the sink before walking down the hallway and into a patient's room.  
  
She rummaged around with a few tools on the counter in the room before walking over to the bed where a small person had been laid out, a white bandage across his chest cover the wound on the side. Biting her lip, Maggie picked up a small flashlight and leaned over him.  
  
"Don't know why Liz wouldn't be interested in you," she muttered, lifting a flap on his forehead to reveal what seemed to be a large, purple eye underneath.  
  
She turned on the flashlight and shined it in the eye, when suddenly, the boy stirred and all three eyes opened up, not one of them looking too pleased.  
  
Hiei squinted, sitting up abruptly.  
  
"Get that light out of my eyes!" he snapped, causing Maggie to jump, dropping the flashlight on the floor.  
  
"You...you..." she stammered, staring at the third eye, which was closing again. "You have...three eyes...but...how?"  
  
Hiei looked around the room, angrily. Why the heck had he been brought here...wherever HERE was? His head ached from where the monster had thrown the brick, knocking him out, he recalled, as he glanced down at the bandage. And yes, he'd been grazed by that idiot human policemen's bullet.  
  
"Where am I?" he snapped, pulling out the IV cord that had been stuck in his arm and standing up, much to Maggie's astonishment.  
  
"You...you shouldn't do that!" she cried, nervously, backing up against the wall.  
  
Hiei sighed, exasperated. This woman wasn't going to be of much help, he thought to himself as he spotted his shirt and bandana lying on a chair on the other side of the room.  
  
"Never mind," he muttered, pulling the blue shirt on and stuffing the bandana in his robe pocket, picking it up off the chair. "I'm leaving."  
  
Maggie, stunned, watched as the black-haired demon walked over to the door, opened it, and left without another word.  
  
************  
  
Priest Seto raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Send me home?" he repeated, confused. "What do you mean, Karim?"  
  
Karim placed his scales down on the porch, looking straight into the spirit's eyes.  
  
"Bastet summoned you back from your place in the afterlife to assist her by keeping an eye on the spiritual and Millennium activity in Domino," he explained seriously. "And she has noted that your responsibility over the past few months has declined greatly. This is not your purpose here, spirit."  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes.  
  
"And so," Karim said, narrowing his dark eyes at Priest Seto. "She has instructed me to replace you as the monitor in Domino, and to send you back where you belong; not in this world."  
  
Priest Seto gasped.  
  
"But...you mean...leave? And move on?" he asked, stunned.  
  
Karim nodded, picking up his golden scales again.  
  
"Yes," he replied. "She taught me how to use that sort of power with my Millennium Scales," he explained, glancing down at them. "So, you will leave this world, as you should have 3000 years ago, and move on to your afterlife."  
  
  
  
Priest Seto blinked, all of this being so sudden. Leave the world...? Go on...to the afterlife? It sounded peaceful. He wouldn't have to worry about conflict...and evil. And he would be able to see Priestess Isis again...and Kisara!  
  
But...  
  
Something in the priest's heart felt heavy about leaving, though. He'd never be able to aid the Pharaoh and undo what his Millennium Item had done to him so many years ago. He would not be able to help Seto Kaiba and Mokuba...and be there for them in times of trouble. It was almost like...escaping. Cheating. Letting them down...  
  
"Well..." Priest Seto muttered, his gaze falling to the ground. "That is Bastet's wish?"  
  
Karim nodded solemnly.  
  
"It is her command," he replied.  
  
************  
  
Uroko glanced around a strange, shadowy room underground, feeling edgy. Even with the powers of the Millennium Eye, or whatever he had stolen from that boy, he had been unable to compete with the combined powers of the Spirit Detective and his friend, and the strange spiky-haired magician boy.  
  
"He is the nameless Pharaoh," Came a wispy voice, and Uroko jerked his head up to see Atokata's shadow on the wall, the strange shadow demon narrowing his yellow eyes at his servant. "And the Millennium Items are his weapon. It seems we have failed in destroying our new enemies before they could combine forces with our old ones."  
  
Uroko growled, clenching his scaled fists.  
  
"Then how do you propose I defeat them, master?" he asked jerkily, trying to remain respectful.  
  
Atokata narrowed his eyes further.  
  
"I said I was calling backup for you," he replied in his thin voice, several dark figured emerging from the shadows, all of them looking ready for battle. "And so they have arrived."  
  
The three demons that had appeared all looked very similar to Uroko, without the Millennium Eye, of course. One had red skin, another blue, and the last one yellow skin, which looked brownish in color in the shadows of the underground room.  
  
"Ah, brothers," Uroko murmured, grinning, recognizing fellow demons from his clan. "You have come to aid Master Atokata in his plan?"  
  
The other three nodded solemnly.  
  
"Now go and destroy the Spirit Detective and his friends, and take the power items of those residents of the city!" Atokata demanded, all for demon slaves bowing.  
  
"Yes!" They chorused before marching toward the door and climbing back up into the city.  
  
************  
  
Kuwabara sighed, walking outside the Domino Hospital, just where Dr. Liz had said that her office was located. Narrowing his eyes, he glanced around the outside of the hospital, trying to sense anything strange.  
  
"Nothing..." he muttered, glancing to the right, his eyes lighting up suddenly. "Wait! I'm sensing a demon..." Kuwabara gasped. "A real one! And strange...force...like the one's I've been sensing all over the city, but up close!"  
  
Walking toward the entrance, Kuwabara smirked.  
  
"Maybe I should go pay this "doctor" a visit after all," he muttered.  
  
************  
  
Seto sighed, tapping his foot as he waited outside Doctor Elizabeth Harding's office, Mokuba sitting on the cold cement floor beside him. After nearly twenty minutes, the black-haired boy sighed in impatience, and looked up at his older brother with his large gray eyes.  
  
"Do you think she's even going to show up, niisama?" he asked, bored as he pulled himself up. "I mean, we've been here for nearly a half hour and she STILL hasn't showed up."  
  
Seto nodded, checking his watch for the fifth time in ten minutes.  
  
"True," he muttered impatiently, switching his briefcase to his right hand, his left one growing tired of holding it during the long wait. "I'll give her ten more minutes, then we're leaving."  
  
A grin spread over Mokuba's face, but it quickly vanished at the sound of high-heeled shoes clacking on the floor behind Seto, and the brown-haired CEO turned around to come face-to-face with Dr. Liz.  
  
"Well, look who decided to show up," Dr. Liz mused, smirking. "Perfect. Right this way, boys," she announced, moving past Seto and Mokuba and unlocking her office door with a single key she had been holding in her hands.  
  
  
  
Turning on the lights, she stepped into the large office, Mokuba and Seto following her inside, where she closed the door.  
  
"I don't suppose either of you know if the other boy will be showing up tonight?" Dr. Liz asked, looking from the older boy to the younger boy, her eyes darting from one of the other, as if inspecting them.  
  
Seto shrugged, still clutching his briefcase.  
  
"How should I know?" he replied coldly. "We had never seen him before this morning's incident."  
  
Dr. Liz smirked.  
  
"Well then, just wait here for a moment while I tell my boss something," she smiled, walking out the door again. "Wait right here..." she murmured, closing the door and locking it silently behind her.  
  
"Perfect," Dr. Liz murmured, hurrying down the hallway to Dr. Wayne's office.  
  
*************  
  
Yami Bakura grinned maniacally, the Millennium Ring lit up brilliantly, all of the pointers flying in various directions from the force emitting from the ring. Kurama shielded his eyes from the light, feeling something in his body awaken...again.  
  
"Now, awaken!" Yami Bakura declared, narrowing his brown eyes at Kurama, whose red hair was blowing back wildly in the wind, a fog suddenly surrounding him. "The spirit that sleeps deep within that human body!"  
  
  
  
By now, the white and blue fog had completely surrounded the red-haired demon, lighting striking all around. Yami Bakura smirked, the light of the Millennium Ring dying down as the fog began to lift.  
  
"And now, perhaps I have a more worthy opponent...as well as an opponent with ancient magic I can explore..." Yami Bakura grinned, watching as a dark figure emerged from the fog.  
  
Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow, noticing that the figure that had emerged looked almost completely different from the Kurama who had been swallowed up in it. The new figure was a tall, white-haired person with fox ears poking up out from under the long, flowing hair. His eyes were more narrow and light brown in color, and he was clothed in a white toga of some sort.  
  
"So, you are the spirit who lives within this body..." Yami Bakura mused as the new figure stepped out of the fog, looking at Yami Bakura strangely, as if amused with him. "Hopefully you will be more of a challenge than that boy."  
  
The new figure laughed, smiling at Yami Bakura.  
  
"If I had been in your position, I would not have awakened me," he explained, grinning softly. "Even in Shuichi's body I could have defeated you with ease. You've only made it easier."  
  
Yami Bakura huffed, narrowing his eyes in anger.  
  
"So we shall see," he snapped in reply. "If I may be allowed to ask, what is your name and form?"  
  
The white-haired man laughed, smiling still.  
  
  
  
"I am Yoko Kurama," he replied, narrowing his eyes. "And I am a fox demon, as well as the greatest thief there ever was."  
  
Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow, his Millennium Ring glowing slightly.  
  
"Now this is getting personal," he explained, grinning. "For I am Bakura, the greatest thief."  
  
Yoko chuckled.  
  
"Care to battle for proof of the title then?" he asked, Yami Bakura already pulling out his deck.  
  
"Of course..."  
  
*************  
  
End of Chapter 11  
  
Priest Seto: O_O Review...And next chapter up soon.  
  
  
  
Red: *whispers* I don't know why he's getting so worried. You actually think SK would send him on? O.o;  
  
*bonks Red* ^_~ You never know what I may do... 


	12. Chapter Twelve: A Spirit's Tie

Chapter Twelve: A Spirit's Tie  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Red: And, ehem, ladies and gentlemen, allow me to introduce our new temporary announcer/muse person! (Since Priest is taking a break, partially due to tension from reading the fic...^^;)  
  
Koto: ^-^! Hello ladies and gentlemen! I am Koto...and I hope this chapter has some blood in it. *checks title* Well...maybe! ^_^!  
  
O_O; Thank goodness this is only a temporary switch...^^; On with Chapter 12!  
  
*************  
  
Chapter Twelve: A Spirit's Tie  
  
Yusuke huffed as Joey closed a dumpster noisily behind him as the two walked through an alley. Yugi had split everyone up into teams of two or three, hoping to cover the city faster that way. As luck would have it, he'd ended up with Joey.  
  
"Not in there..." Joey mumbled, putting his chin in his hand thoughtfully as he walked after Yusuke, as if contemplating a complicated mystery.  
  
"No duh, genius," Yusuke muttered, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Does your friend have an odd habit of hiding in dumpsters or was that just you showing off your great searching skills?"  
  
Joey's anger rose and he lunged out and grabbed Yusuke by the collar of his shirt, spinning him around and pulling him closer.  
  
"Listen, jerk! I don't want to be looking with you anymore than you want to be looking with me! Can't you just give it up with the stupid comments already?!" Joey yelled, narrowing his brown eyes in irritation.  
  
Yusuke rolled eyes, shoving Joey off of him and brushing off his shirt.  
  
"Whatever," he muttered, a clanking noise coming from behind them.  
  
Both boys jumped, startled by the sudden noise. Yusuke held out his finger, ready to blast any demon that might get in their way. Joey had his fists up, preparing for an attack of his own. However, both looked down at the ground and saw a harmless tabby cat walking across an old garbage lid.  
  
Joey groaned.  
  
"Stupid cat!" he yelled, kicking the garbage can lid, causing the cat to screech and dart away. "We thought you were some kind of demon or something!"  
  
Yusuke sighed, turning and walking in the other direction.  
  
"Hey! Blonde, tall, and stupid," he called, rolling his eyes. "Let's get going."  
  
"Who're you calling stupid?!" Joey retorted, sprinting after the black-haired Spirit Detective.  
  
************  
  
  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow and walked over to try the door handle. It wouldn't move, since Dr. Liz had locked it just before she left. Seto narrowed his eyes, pulling on it again, just to make sure.  
  
Mokuba, who had been sitting down in one of the chairs in the room, looked up, blinking in confusion.  
  
"What's wrong, niisama?" he asked, tilting his head to the side.  
  
Seto clenched his free fist, turning around.  
  
"Seems she's locked us in for some reason," he muttered, thinking to himself. "But why...?"  
  
Mokuba gasped, jumping up and running over to the try the door for himself.  
  
"It's locked!" he cried, even though that was obvious.  
  
Seto paced the dimly lit office, the only light coming from a green-shaded desk-lamp sitting on Dr. Liz's desk. Growling, he tried to work things out. Dr. Liz had only invited them to come back because of their strange display of extra-human powers this morning. So...it was a set up for something bigger! She had probably informed someone she worked with...or someone interested in such people, Seto thought to himself. In any event, we need to get out here.  
  
Putting down his briefcase, Seto snapped it open and pulled out the shiny Millennium Rod. Mokuba bit his lip, watching as his brother looked around the room, as if he were looking for something.  
  
"What are you gonna do, niisama?" Mokuba asked worriedly. "And how are we gonna get out of here? I really don't want to talk to that lady when she comes back...with her boss or whatever..."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow, walking over to a filing cabinet and pushing it away from the wall with a squeal of the wheels against the floor. Behind it was a silver grating, which Seto promptly pulled off, revealing a dusty, but fairly wide passageway into the vents.  
  
Mokuba darted over, looking interested.  
  
"You're going to go through the vents?" he asked, blinking up at Seto.  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes, looking down and inspecting the ducts. Sighing, he stood up.  
  
"No, not exactly," he replied, looking concerned. "The entry is too narrow, and I'll never make it through without getting stuck."  
  
Mokuba's eyes lit up.  
  
"So you want ME to go through the vents and get out, and unlock the door from the outside!" he declared, looking proudly up at his older brother. "Guess it pays to be short sometimes."  
  
Seto would have laughed, but right then, it seemed inappropriate. Seto looked seriously down at Mokuba.  
  
"Be extremely careful, all right?" Seto asked, his blue eyes staring into Mokuba's gray ones.  
  
The black-haired boy nodded solemnly, bending down and entering the silvery vents with a double clunk as his knees hit the walling.  
  
"I'll be really careful, niisama!" he replied, clunking away from the room in the vent. "Don't worry!"  
  
Seto sighed, folding his arms across his chest, the Millennium Rod still in his hands.  
  
"I worry," he muttered, going over to the oak door to inspect on other ways to get out.  
  
************  
  
Kuwabara walked through the lobby of the hospital building, looking around at all the people sitting in the waiting room and all the nurses that were hurrying by suspiciously.  
  
"One of them is definitely a demon," he murmured to himself, approaching the front desk. "I can sense a demon in this building."  
  
There was no one at the front desk, and Kuwabara glanced toward the doors that led to rooms of patients.  
  
"Maybe that demon brought himself to a...human hospital to get healed?" Kuwabara trailed off, realizing that the theory seemed highly unlikely.  
  
Just as the orange haired boy was about to walk into the hallway anyway, a breathless, middle-aged nurse hurried up to the front desk, panting and looking rather confused.  
  
"You there!" she panted, calling out to Kuwabara. "You can't go back there without permission."  
  
Kuwabara raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Okay, time to play it cool," he muttered, deciding that the only way to get back there, was by fibbing a little. "A little Kuwabara-charm and a tiny fib might make this woman let me by."  
  
Kuwabara chuckled, looking sad all of the sudden as he leaned over the desk at the woman.  
  
"Well, you see, I'm here to see me...very dear friend," he said, looking down at the ground. "He was...brought in a little while ago, and I came to visit."  
  
The woman took a deep breath, scribbling something down on a post-it note and then dialing a number.  
  
"Just a minute," she muttered to Kuwabara, not moved a bit by his so-called "act."  
  
Kuwabara grumbled, drumming his fingers on the white countertop as the woman made her call. After she had finished, she hung the shiny black phone back on its cradle and turned back to the eager boy, straightening her black name tag.  
  
"Now, what was it you wanted?" she asked, having caught her breath by now.  
  
Kuwabara sighed.  
  
"I wanted to visit my friend," he said bluntly, a woman and a rather upset-looking girl sitting down in one of the plastic blue chairs behind him, the girl holding a bag of ice around her left hand.  
  
The nurse sighed, pulling out a list of occupants and opening the manila folder on the desk in front of Kuwabara.  
  
"This is going to be a busy night..." she muttered, putting her hands on her hips. "Now, what's your friend's name?"  
  
Kuwabara glanced down at the list of names, hoping to quickly see someone easy and use them as the "friend."  
  
"Um...John...Doe..." he muttered, grinning and looking back up at the woman, who raised an eyebrow at him.  
  
"Are you telling me you're here to see one of our nameless patients?" she asked. "Then how can he be your "dear friend" if you don't even know his name?"  
  
Kuwabara turned red.  
  
"Okay, that wasn't smooth..." he grumbled, grinning embarrassedly. "No! No, what I meant was that he's not going to be a John Doe anymore now that I'M here. Cause I know his name," he said proudly.  
  
The nurse glared skeptically at Kuwabara.  
  
"Uh-huh..." The nurse replied, blinking. "And what might his name be?"  
  
Kuwabara thought fast.  
  
"Er...Mokuba!" he declared, blurting out the first name that came to mind; the boy he'd met in the doctor's office that morning.  
  
************  
  
Priest Seto stared into the night, into the front lawn of Seto Kaiba's manor, giving a half-smile.  
  
  
  
"Well...I suppose my time has been long overdue," he murmured, turning back to Karim.   
  
Karim nodded.  
  
"I wish you well, Priest," he murmured, closing his eyes and looking down at the Millennium Scales, which had started to glow.  
  
Priest Seto sighed, closing his icy blue eyes as a gold light surrounded him. He suddenly felt lighter than he ever had before, as if something were lifting him up off the ground on its own accord.  
  
"Good bye, Mokuba," Priest Seto thought to himself, feeling sad at leaving such good friends behind. "Good bye...Seto Kai..."  
  
~ "You can't die! You can't repeat the same mistakes...no, the same failures as I!" ~  
  
Suddenly, however, Karim's eyes snapped open and he gasped, looking down at his Millennium Scales, which had ceased to glow. The shimmering yellow glow that had engulfed the priest a moment before had started to spark and dim.  
  
"Help..." Came a small voice somewhere deep in the spirit's heart as she gold glow faded.  
  
"What in the world...?!" Karim cried, his dark eyes wide as the glowing light that had illuminated the yard for a brief moment died away, revealing Priest Seto, still in spirit form, his image vague, but coming back.  
  
Priest Seto blinked, looking down at his hands, which were regaining their spirit-color. He wasn't leaving! But why...? There wasn't anything tying him to the world...was there?  
  
~ "You are not tied to anyone or anything. Why are you here...? ~  
  
Karim gasped, backing up, his Millennium Scales clanking in his hands.  
  
"I don't believe it," he breathed, his dark eyes wide as he watched Priest Seto look up at him. "Bastet explicitly stated that SHE had summoned you, and that you were tied to the Earth by her call alone."  
  
Priest Seto's eyes widened as he suddenly realized what was keeping him there, what the cry for help in his heart had been. It all made sense now.  
  
"It seems...that something unexpected happened during my time as a spirit here...and that event changed something about me," Priest Seto murmured slowly, looking up at Karim, who stared.  
  
************  
  
Yami blinked, his puzzle glowing brightly for a second as he, Tea, and Mai walked down the sidewalks near the mall. The ancient Pharaoh looked down at the puzzle, raising an eyebrow. Something odd had just happened, he thought to himself. But...I don't think something bad...  
  
Tea stopped, turning around and glancing worriedly at her friend.  
  
"Is something wrong, Yugi...?" she asked, Yami looking up and shaking his head with a serious expression.  
  
"No," he replied. "Nothing at all. We should find Bakura and this Kurama before anything else happens, though," he replied, Tea nodding worriedly.  
  
"You don't think Kurama would have kidnapped Bakura...do you?" she asked, unsure.  
  
Mai rolled her eyes.  
  
"Let's see, from where I was standing, he was fighting that evil monster too," she replied, her anger coming back. "While standing on my car, but fighting on our side nevertheless."  
  
Yami nodded.  
  
"She is right," he replied, turning a corner as the traffic light turned red, the light illuminating them all as they crossed the street. "But we must be cautious. I sense that the demon that has the Millennium Eye is not the only one we need to be on the lookout for."  
  
*************  
  
End of Chapter 12  
  
^_^ REVIEW!  
  
Koto: o_O! What?! No blood! X_X!  
  
Red: -.- Maybe next chapter... 


	13. Chapter Thirteen: To the Death

Chapter Thirteen: To the Death  
  
Notes: ^_^! Thanks for reviewing everyone!  
  
Red Archery Girl: Yeeep, and I guess Priest is part of the little "Kaiba Family" now. XP  
  
Koto: ^-^ Why hello! *checks chapter title* Okay, now THIS sounds promising! ^_^! Let's get going with Chapter Thirteen!  
  
^_^;; Ehe, yeah!  
  
*************  
  
Chapter Thirteen: To the Death  
  
Seto gritted his teeth, pulling the sheath off the end of the Millennium Rod and digging the dagger part of the golden item into the door, trying to pry it open. He felt neglectful at having let his younger brother go off to try to fix things himself, and didn't want Dr. Liz to return while Mokuba was still gone.  
  
He didn't know what sort of things she would want to do with him. After all, HE hadn't even been the one who came in for a check-up that morning. Just because he talked to a ghost didn't make him insane...really.  
  
"Oh this just couldn't get any worse," Seto grumbled, pulling hard, hearing cracking noises as the wood splintered.  
  
************  
  
Mokuba clunked down the metal vents, feeling a little Closter-phobic as he turned a corner and hit his head against the roof of the vents.  
  
"Ow..." The black-haired boy muttered, feeling uneasy as he head scratches on the floor below, and the click-clack of shoes. "Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all..." he murmured, biting his lip as he inched along. "No! I have get out so I can help Seto escape..." Mokuba declared.  
  
Just as the boy rounded another corner, he lost his footing and his hand slipped, causing the boy to tumble downward through the vent, as if he were riding a slide at a park.  
  
"Whoa!" Mokuba yelled, seeing the grating to the vent up ahead. "Help!" he screamed as he crashed into the grating, which flew off its hinges, sending both it and Mokuba smashing into someone who had been walking through the halls at that moment.  
  
"Ow..." Mokuba moaned, sitting up and rubbing his chest where he'd crashed into the grate. "Sorry..." he added to the black-haired person he'd crashed into.  
  
Hiei narrowed his eyes, standing up and tossing the grating off of him, where it crashed onto the floor with a clatter. Mokuba winced at the noise, standing up as well.  
  
"Look, sorry kid," Mokuba apologized again, looking down at the black-haired demon, who didn't look pleased.  
  
"Whatever," Hiei snapped in reply, clutching his side.  
  
Having a boy fall out of the wall and land on his injured side was not exactly what he'd had in mind at the minute. Mokuba studied the demon for a moment before noticing something that made goosebumps rise on his arms.  
  
"Uh...uh...you...have a..." he stammered, pointing to Hiei's forehead, where the Jagan Eye was still open and glowing slightly.  
  
Hiei huffed, pulling his headband out of his pocket and tying it around his forehead.  
  
"Honestly, humans have no appreciation for the Jagan Eye, not that I'd expect them too," he retorted in an irritated voice.  
  
"The WHAT eye?" Mokuba asked, getting off track.  
  
Hiei narrowed his normal pair of eyes at Mokuba.  
  
"Just get back to your room or whatever, kid," Hiei replied, turning and walking down the hallway, hoping to find an exit to the building before another child came flying out of the vents.  
  
Mokuba, however, blinked once before running after him, grabbing his arm.  
  
"No, wait, listen!" Mokuba cried, looking down at Hiei pleadingly. "My brother and I are in trouble. There's this crazy doctor lady, and she locked him upstairs and who knows WHAT she's gonna do if I don't get him out of there fast! Can you help me out?"  
  
Hiei pulled his arm out of Mokuba's grip.  
  
"No," he replied coldly, continuing down the hallway, past a few rooms.  
  
Mokuba's eyes grew sad.  
  
"But...don't you understand what's it's like to have a sibling in danger?" he asked softly, looking down at the ground. "Wouldn't you do anything to help them out if you were in that situation?"  
  
Hiei paused, the part about siblings causing him to think about his own. True, she didn't even know the they were related, but he'd still do anything to help her if she were in trouble...  
  
"Yukina..." he thought to himself, clenching his fists angrily at the delay. "Fine," he snapped at Mokuba, whose eyes lit up. "I'll help you get your brother out of wherever he is, but then I'm leaving."  
  
Mokuba nodded quickly.  
  
"Agreed!" he replied hastily.  
  
*************  
  
Karim blinked, shaking his head, trying to convince himself that what had just happened...hadn't. Staring at Priest Seto, the new Millennium Item owner held the scales in his hands, nervous now.  
  
"Why haven't you left?" Karim demanded angrily, Priest Seto still looking slightly dazed.  
  
"Because..." Priest Seto murmured, smiling slightly. "A tie from a while back has reminded me that I am still needed here."  
  
Karim shook his head.  
  
"No! Bastet said your only tie was her summoning you here," he said firmly. "I severed that tie with the Millennium Scales, so you should be gone now."  
  
Priest Seto was the one to shake his head this time.  
  
"No..." he replied calmly. "To save Seto Kaiba's life, I used the spirit transfer to give some of my spirit to him. That is a permanent transfer and it forms a bond between the two people that cannot be broken. So long as Seto Kaiba needs me, I will be here."  
  
Priest Seto smiled, looking up at the starry sky above, Karim still looking confused.  
  
"And I must leave now," Priest Seto said, suddenly looking more grave than before. "I sense danger in the city...and with the Millennium Item holders."  
  
Karim nodded, slowly understanding what the priest was telling him. A bond that could not be broken...not even by a Millennium Item.  
  
"I used to think Millennium Items could do anything," Karim thought to himself. "That the owner of all would be supremely powerful over all else in this world...but I was wrong. There are some things that even a force as strong as a Millennium Item cannot touch."  
  
Karim walked forward, Priest Seto turning around and raising an eyebrow.  
  
"I will go to the city as well," Karim explained, narrowing his eyes. "I sense the dark force as well, and I believe I can be of some use."  
  
Priest Seto nodded, the Karim standing before him reminding him of the Ancient Karim that he used to know.  
  
"Yes," he replied. "I'll find out where Seto Kaiba and the Pharaoh are and you see if you can't locate the force and any others with Millennium Items are."  
  
Karim nodded, walking toward the driveway.  
  
"I have a feeling we will meet up again soon. Act wisely until that time," he added before disappearing into the shadows of the driveway, Priest Seto floating off into the night.  
  
*************  
  
Yami Bakura held up a card from his deck, grinning widely as the Millennium Ring lit up, a blast of wind suddenly surrounding both him and the fox demon.  
  
  
  
"I summon the Man-Eater Bug!" Yami Bakura declared, the large, brown monster appearing, reaching out for Yoko with its huge, clawed hands.  
  
Yoko Kurama chuckled, stepping backwards before pulling out a seed from his cloak.  
  
"Venomous plants are not restricted merely to the demon world, I've heard," Yoko murmured, smiling slyly, the seed glowing and growing larger, taking on the form of something huge and vine-like. "Your Venus Flytrap is a common example of a deadly plant."  
  
Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow as the plant rose up, its huge mouth opening and slime-like drool dripping from its jagged teeth.  
  
"Meet what you humans would call the Ultimate Venus Flytrap; the plant evolved into its most deadly and efficient form," he declared with a grin. "Now, destroy that bug!"  
  
"Man-Eater Bug! Forget the weed and attack him!" Yami Bakura declared, dodging the plant's flying drool as the Man-Eater bug quickly moved over toward Yoko.  
  
Yoko jumped out of the way, the Ultimate Venus Flytrap turning and grabbing the bug up in its mouth, a horrid hissing sound filling the air as the bug came into contact with the flytrap's saliva.  
  
"What in the world...?" Yami Bakura muttered, narrowing his brown eyes in anger as he backed up, searching for another monster as his previous one was devoured whole by the plant. "Guess you are a bit stronger than I expected."  
  
Yoko smirked, watching his plant gulp down the last of the Man-Eater bug before turning and facing Yami Bakura, its hungry and blank face staring straight at the white-haired ancient thief.  
  
"You should learn not to underestimate your opponents," Yoko adviced. "Or should have learned. Your days of fighting are over, fool."  
  
Yami Bakura huffed, drawing another card out of his deck, the card lighting up with a white glow and his Millennium Ring glowing bright yellow as he summoned the dark powers from it.  
  
"I summon Dark Necrofear!" Yami Bakura declared, narrowing his eyes. "Your plant is doomed, fox!"  
  
************  
  
Amber, Keiko, Yukina, Duke and Pearl walked down the street in a jumbled clump, all five of them keeping their eyes peeled for any sign of Bakura, Kurama, or strange-looking demons.  
  
"I hope Yusuke and that blonde boy don't end up getting into a fight," Keiko muttered, hugging Puu as she walked along next to Amber. "I could so see that happening, and then when trouble comes up, they won't be ready."  
  
Amber sighed, biting her lip.  
  
"Let's hope trouble doesn't come up then," she replied, her shoulders sagging. "Joey isn't the easiest to get along with when his strength comes into question. You should see him and Kaiba go at it..." she laughed before trailing off, realizing Keiko wouldn't have any idea who Seto was.  
  
Keiko sighed nervously, hugging Puu tighter, causing the little blue bird-like creature to squeak, trying to wiggle his way into a looser grip.  
  
Yukina looked around, feeling uneasy.  
  
"I have a bad feeling about this area," The mint-haired ice apparition murmured softly, looking around as the five walked across an empty basketball court. "Something isn't right."  
  
Duke raised an eyebrow, twirling a lock of his black hair around his index finger as they walked, Pearl lagging behind, panting.  
  
"What do you mean?" he asked, just as a red creature leapt down from the basketball hoop and landed in front of them, holding up his red hands to reveal long, sharp nails and he grinned, revealing his black teeth, which were at least five inches long each.  
  
"Whoa!" Amber cried, her eyes widening as the monster grinned, hissing madly. "What the heck is that?!"  
  
Duke grabbed his friend's arm and pulled her back.  
  
"I don't know, but it doesn't look friendly," he replied nervously, narrowing his eyes.  
  
Pearl cried out, hiding behind Keiko, who was quivering.  
  
"D...do you think he's a friend of that other demon who was battling Yusuke, Kurama, and that Yugi kid?" she asked Duke, who nodded with a shrug.  
  
"Could be...could not be...I don't know!" he replied, feeling edgy as the monster stepped toward them, his huge clawed feet clacking on the pavement with each step.  
  
Yukina's eyes widened.  
  
"It must be a helper to him," she replied. "Because the demon probably wouldn't give up so easily."  
  
Amber narrowed her bright blue eyes, the moon reflecting in her pupils.  
  
"But then why would he come after us?" she asked, looking confusedly over at Yukina. "I thought the demon was after the Spirit Detective or whatever and the Millennium Items?"  
  
The red demon smirked, holding up his claws again.  
  
"You're partially right, little human," he hissed, grinning. "But then again, you're also wrong. We want all of your items of power, and I sense there is one among you."  
  
Pearl glanced down at her pearl quickly, and then back up at the monster, hoping that she could play dumb and get them out of trouble.  
  
"We don't have any Millennium Items!" she yelled back at the demon, who smirked.  
  
"Then I'll settle for that ice apparition," he replied, moving toward Yukina, but Keiko and Amber got in the way, both girls frowning.  
  
"You're not taking ANYONE," Keiko said firmly, Puu frowning in her arms.  
  
"Not without a fight," Duke added, pulling out a handful of dice.  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 13  
  
^_^ Review!  
  
  
  
Red: Next chapter up soon!  
  
Koto: -_-! Blood!  
  
o.O Okay...I'll remember that. ^-^;; 


	14. Chapter Fourteen: Battle Rages On

Chapter Fourteen: Battle Rages On  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing, everyone!  
  
Red: Yepp! Chapter 14, at your service!  
  
Koto: *clears throat* *taps microphone* Testing, 1, 2...1, 2, 3...  
  
*************  
  
Chapter Fourteen: Battle Rages On  
  
Dr. Liz smirked as she opened the door to Dr. Wayne's office, the young doctor slipping on a lab-coat.  
  
"Are the subjects in place?" he asked casually, examining a few bottles of odd-looking liquid that were resting on a dusty shelf.  
  
Dr. Liz put her hands on her hips and nodded.  
  
"Well, the two boys who were talking to ghosts...or so they said," she muttered, watching Dr. Wayne pick up his black briefcase and walk over to the door. "The last boy with the sword hasn't arrived yet."  
  
Dr. Wayne smiled, opening the door and walking out again, Dr. Liz following quickly behind him.  
  
"No matter," he replied with a sly smile. "Two is more than enough for an evening's research," he explained, rounding the corner toward Dr. Liz's office. "Thank you for your assistance, Elizabeth. You may go home now."  
  
Dr. Liz scrunched up her nose.  
  
"That's it? I gather up this weirdos for you and then you tell me to leave?" she asked, sounding rather insulted. "I know more about them than you do anyway. The older boy is skeptical, so you're probably going to end up using brute force to get him to submit. The younger boy is just a brat and the other boy, providing he shows, is pretty dense."  
  
Dr. Wayne narrowed his eyes, stopping abruptly, whirling around, and grabbing Dr. Liz roughly by the shoulder. The young woman cried out, trying to wrestle her arm out of his grip.  
  
"Hey! What's the big idea...?!" she demanded, narrowing her eyes angrily as Dr. Wayne looked her straight in the eye.  
  
"What I'm doing is strictly confidential," he snapped in an angry and serious tone. "If you're willing to keep your mouth shut about this whole thing and NOT let word get out to everyone in the hospital, you can assist me."  
  
Dr. Liz managed to wrench her arm out of his grip and rubbed the spot tenderly.  
  
"Heh, fine," she replied snappishly, glaring at the doctor's back as he continued toward her office.  
  
************  
  
Seto pulled back the Millennium Rod, panting. The razor sharp blade at the end of his Millennium Item still hadn't been able to open the door, and worst of all, Mokuba hadn't returned yet either, and he could hear footsteps just outside the door.  
  
Seto backed up, his rod in hand and ready to jump Dr. Liz when she walked inside. He was not going to let her do anything to him, or Mokuba if he should come back. No, he was going to knock her out and then get out of the hospital as soon as possible.  
  
The door opened wide, and Seto lunged forward...but not at Dr. Liz. Dr. Wayne smirked, stepping aside and letting Seto's attack go through the air. Seto growled, turning around as Dr. Liz snapped the door shut behind him.  
  
"Why Mr. Kaiba..." she said with a smile. "Why so violent all of a sudden?"  
  
Seto glared at her, shoving her away from the door, but she smirked, holding up a shiny key as she stumbled away from him.  
  
  
  
"You won't be getting out anytime soon," Dr. Liz informed him, smirking as she looked over at Dr. Wayne, who was studying Seto closely.  
  
"Mr. Seto of Kaiba Corporation, am I not correct?" he asked suddenly, Seto turning around and glaring at him.  
  
"Why should it matter?" Seto snapped back. "If you know who I am then it's all the more reason why you should open this door."  
  
Dr. Wayne smiled.  
  
"I see," he replied, noticing that out of the corner of his eye Dr. Liz was filling a syringe with a liquid of some sort. "Well then, this research session shall be most interesting."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow, not letting his guard down on this man.  
  
"I didn't come here for to become a specimen," he snarled, clenching the Millennium Rod in his hands tightly. "Now for the last time, I demand you unlock this door, or else."  
  
  
  
Dr. Wayne chuckled, amused by the teenager's remarks.  
  
"And for the last time, Mr. Kaiba," he replied calmly as Dr. Liz snuck up behind Seto. "I am asking that you cooperate with us...or else."  
  
Seto glared.  
  
"Or else what?" he asked, just as Dr. Liz plunged the syringe into his arm from behind him and squeezed the contents out of it.  
  
Seto gasped, whirling around and shoving the doctor away from him, but it was too late. Whatever she'd just injected into him was now taking affect, and everything around him swirled before turning black.  
  
The brown-haired boy fell to the floor with a thud, the Millennium Rod falling out of his hands and falling to the ground beside him with a clatter. Dr. Liz rubbed her arm angrily, glaring at the boy. Dr. Wayne, however, smiled calmly.  
  
"Well, that wasn't so difficult," he murmured.  
  
*************  
  
Kuwabara scanned the hallways seriously as he walked stealthily along, keeping his eyes out for anything or anyone suspicious.  
  
"No demons so far..." he muttered, turning a corner and shoving his hands into the pockets of his blue pants. "But I can clearly sense one..."  
  
Sighing, the orange-haired boy turned toward the elevator and pushed the "up" button and waited for the elevator to come down to his floor.  
  
"Guess I'll just have to keep on searching until I track him down," Kuwabara declared to himself. "Even if it takes all night! I can't let Urameshi take all the credit for this mission."  
  
*************  
  
Joey sighed, stopping and leaning against a brick wall as Yusuke turned around, raising an eyebrow at the blonde-haired boy.  
  
"What NOW?" he sighed in exasperation.  
  
Joey glared back at the black-haired boy.  
  
"I'm TIRED," Joey retorted angrily. "We've been looking for hours and we haven't found one single piece of evidence of a demon being nearby. Maybe they were scared and left."  
  
Yusuke snorted.  
  
"Even though they SHOULD be scared, no demon before ever gave be any credit for being strong, so I doubt these guys would just suddenly leave and practically admit that they were took weak to stick it out," he replied with a smirk. "But if you're so tired, you can run along home to bed."  
  
That remark got Joey back on his feet. In a matter of seconds the blonde-haired boy had caught up with Yusuke, glaring daggers at him.  
  
"What did you say?!" he demanded, just as a high-pitched squeak of some sort came from the darkness behind them.  
  
Both boys jumped and turned around to see a pair of yellow eyes peering out at them from the darkness in the alley they'd just left. Joey gulped, backing up slightly.  
  
"Who...who's there?" Joey called, unsure, as the squealed laughing grew louder, whatever it was in the shadows stepping out into the open, revealing a tall, blue-skinned demon that looked to be practically a carbon copy of Uroko...only without the Millennium Eye, and with a very different voice.  
  
"Well, well, if it isn't the Spirit Detective himself," The blue demon laughed, flashing his shiny black claws in front of him. "This will be SUCH a pleasure to rip you limb from limb for all the trouble you've caused our kind."  
  
Joey narrowed his eyes and stepped forward, boldly.  
  
"Hey! You can't forget about me, you over-grown lizard!" he declared loudly, narrowing his brown eyes at the beast.  
  
The blue demon raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Oh? And might you be someone of importance, human boy?" he asked skeptically, eyeing Joey suspiciously.  
  
"Shut up and stay back if you don't want to get killed," Yusuke hissed in Joey's ear, angrily. "This isn't a video-game, you know."  
  
Joey shrugged Yusuke off.  
  
"I know this isn't a video-game, but I've faced my share of weird monsters too, so it's not like I'm an amateur," he replied, glaring at the demon. "I'm Joey Wheeler, good friend of Yugi Motou, also known as the King of Games."  
  
Yusuke sighed, putting his head in his hand.  
  
"You idiot..." he muttered before straightening up and holding out his index finger, the blue demon beginning to laugh hysterically.  
  
"K...king of GAMES?!" he roared, slapping his leg in amusement. "Well, if you think this is a game, human, you just LOST!"  
  
************  
  
Yami, Tea, and Mai continued on their search in the city, the three of them crossing the mall parking lot, which was now nearly empty, being quite late into the evening.  
  
Tea shivered, looking around worriedly.  
  
"Yugi...do you think Bakura's okay?" she asked with a gulp. "I mean, could the demon have possibly kidnapped both he and Kurama or whatever his name was?"  
  
Yami sighed, his Millennium Puzzle lighting up slightly for some reason as they passed by a dark door, which had been closed ever since the shop closed up earlier that evening. There was a rustle in the bushes near the doorway as the three passed, but Yami ignored it.  
  
"Perhaps," he replied thoughtfully, narrowing his eyes seriously. "Duel Monsters are not demons, so it is hard to tell what they are capable of, and like Duel Monsters, all demons are most likely not the same."  
  
There was a deep chuckle and two thumps behind them, and Mai, Tea, and Yami whirled around to come face to face with a bright yellow demon and a pale orange demon, both of whom looked identical to Uroko as well, minus the Millennium Eye, of course.  
  
Tea gasped and Mai let out a startled cry as she backed up, the heel of her shoe getting caught in a crack in the cement, causing her to fall backwards. Yami caught her and helped her regain balance as he stared at the two monsters.  
  
"Who are you and what is it that you seek?" he demanded angrily, determined not to show any weakness until he'd figured out what exactly these beasts were capable of.  
  
The orange demon smirked.  
  
"To put three troublesome humans out of their misery, you could say," he said with a grin, flashing four long and dangerous-looking knives in front of him, two clenched in each hand.  
  
The yellow one snickered, pulling out a razor-sharp dagger and holding it in an attacking stance in front of him.  
  
"Yes, that, and to claim the strange pendant you wear around you neck, human boy," he replied, gesturing down at the Millennium Puzzle, which Yami clutched instinctively.  
  
"The Millennium Puzzle will never fall into the hands of evil like yourselves," The Pharaoh declared, narrowing his eyes.  
  
The two demons smiled, lunging forward at the three.  
  
"This battle will say otherwise!" The orange one declared, grinning maniacally.  
  
***********  
  
Karim walked down the streets silently, holding the brightly shimmering Millennium Scales in the palm of his hand. The young Egyptian sighed, breathing in deeply.  
  
"I sense...great strife in the mystical world of the Millennium Items," he murmured to himself, closing his eyes.  
  
***********  
  
Koto: O_O! Blood! ^_^ You didn't write it but I bet there was blood on that Kaiba-boy's arm!  
  
O.o; Okay...Koto. Enough with the blood. ^_^ Review please!  
  
Red: ^_^ Yes, please. Next chapter up soon! 


	15. Chapter Fifteen: The Plant of Darkness

Chapter Fifteen: The Plant of Darkness  
  
Notes: ^_^ Once again, thanks for reviewing.  
  
Koto: Well, Alan, as long as he's following official tournament rules, he can participate. ^^  
  
Red: ...I think he was referring to if he decided to sic one on you. XP  
  
Priest Seto: *is considering taking his position back...for everyone's sake.*  
  
*************  
  
Chapter Fifteen: The Plant of Darkness  
  
"Go Dark Necrofear!" Yami Bakura declared, narrowing his eyes at Yoko, who was watching his plant creature devour the remains of the Man-Eater bug, an amused expression on his face. "Your plant won't last against this ultimate monster of darkness."  
  
Yoko smiled as he snapped his fingers, his plant monster suddenly vanishing. Yami Bakura blinked, confused. Then, he broke into a smirk.  
  
"So is this it?" he asked proudly, Dark Necrofear cradling a broken baby-doll in its arms in front of him. "You're admitting defeat?"  
  
Yoko smirked, his white hair flying back in the wind as a new creature began to form in front of him.  
  
"Well, not quite," he replied icily, smiling still as an even larger plant emerged, its fangs, if they could be called that, dripping with acidic-like saliva, which melted holes in the pavement as they slopped down. "But a new plant, yes. This seems to be the perfect plant to destroy your Dark Necrofear. It's called the Plant of Darkness, appropriately. It thrives on shadows and evil creatures."  
  
Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow, his own monster still standing before him, awaiting its master's command.  
  
"I believe your dark being will make a suitable appetizer," Yoko continued, the same smile on his face as his eyes bored into Yami Bakura's, causing the white-haired thief to shake his head and clear his mind before looking over at the plant again. "And you shall make a delightful main course."  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Mokuba jogged after Hiei, who didn't look too happy about the new situation.  
  
"Up the stairs and to the right," Mokuba called to the shorter boy, cautiously, wondering why Hiei didn't just let him lead the way since, after all, HE knew where the room was.  
  
Hiei turned sharply and walked up the stairs, Mokuba trailing after him, his eyes worried.  
  
"Please be okay, niisama," Mokuba thought to himself, squeezing his eyes shut as they approached the top of the staircase. "That doctor was more than nuts this morning, and there's no telling what she'll end up doing!"  
  
"Keep up," Hiei snapped back at Mokuba, who nodded nervously as they started walking down the hallway toward the correct office.  
  
"Er..." Mokuba muttered, glancing over at the black-haired demon edgily and noticing a dark crimson stain on his shirt. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Fine," Hiei snapped shortly.  
  
"Okay...just wondered if I...hurt you or anything when I crashed into you..." Mokuba continued, wanting to talk for some reason.  
  
It made him feel less nervous in a way, and less alone.  
  
"You didn't," The black-haired demon replied grouchily.  
  
"By the way, what's the weird purple eye on your forehead supposed to do?" Mokuba asked quickly in a slur, the question having vaguely nagged at him for the past ten minutes.  
  
Hiei bristled, clenching his teeth and forcing himself not to explode at the younger boy.  
  
"It's not a "weird purple eye," he said forcefully, trying not to sound angry as the eye glowed underneath the white headband. "It's the Jagan Eye, and it has many useful powers...not that I'd expect a human like YOU to understand any of that."  
  
Mokuba gulped, deciding not to pursue the topic further as they approached the office door of Dr. Liz, which surprisingly, was wide open. Mokuba's eyes widened and he hurried past Hiei and into the office, where he skidded to a halt.  
  
"Niisama!" he cried, seeing no one in the office.  
  
It was completely empty, and neither Seto nor Dr. Liz, for that matter, were in sight. The black-haired boy trembled as he walked slowly into the office, stumbling over something long and metal that had been left on the floor.  
  
Hiei leaned on the doorframe and peered into the room, raising an eyebrow.  
  
"You didn't think that he'd actually still be in the same place, did you?" The black-haired demon asked coldly. "Abductors are constantly moving their captives around to keep anyone trailing them off balance."  
  
Mokuba gasped as he looked down at the object he'd stumbled over.  
  
"The Millennium Rod!" he cried, picking it up, nearly dropping it as he realized it was heavier than he'd expected.  
  
"The what?" Hiei asked, looking vaguely interested as Mokuba held the golden item in his hands, looking tearfully down at it.  
  
Mokuba sniffed, trying not to look too upset.  
  
"The...the Millennium Rod," he muttered, biting his lip. "It's one of the Millennium Items, ancient objects that have magical powers, and my niisama owns the Millennium Rod. He uses it a lot when he's fighting...and he'd never leave it anywhere like this..."  
  
Hiei sighed, folding his arms across his chest.  
  
"Which means your brother probably lost in a fight and was taken captive by the doctor or whoever," he filled in. "Looks like humans can't even trust themselves."  
  
Mokuba glared at Hiei, angry and upset.  
  
"There are good and bad humans, just like there are in whatever type of people you are," he shot back, tears dripping down his cheeks.  
  
The young boy held the Millennium Rod close to him as he sunk to his knees, closing his eyes and letting his tears flow freely.  
  
"And...now...niisama could be anywhere...and I'll never be able to help him..." he sobbed, speaking through his tears, almost to himself. "I knew that...doctor was evil...I...knew it..."  
  
Hiei narrowed his eyes, watching the boy cry softly to himself now. He couldn't say that he was exactly moved by the young boy's actions, but as he watched Mokuba's tears splash against the floor, he could only think of his own younger sister.  
  
~*Don't worry, I won't make you cry...*~  
  
Sighing, Hiei narrowed his eyes, knowing that he was giving in further.  
  
"Stop crying already," he snapped boredly, looking down the hallway. "I'll help you find your brother."  
  
Mokuba, teary-eyed, looked up.  
  
"Y...you will?" he asked, unsure.  
  
"Stand up and come on," Hiei snapped, Mokuba jumping up, still clutching the Millennium Rod close to him.  
  
"O...okay," Mokuba murmured, walking toward the door, when suddenly, Kuwabara burst in, panting, his spirit sword extended.  
  
"Gotcha!" he yelled, slashing at Hiei, who dodged easily.  
  
"What are you doing, fool?" The black-haired demon snapped in irritation, wondering why Kuwabara had ended up in the hospital during his searching.  
  
Kuwabara blinked.  
  
"Hiei?" he asked, Mokuba walking over to the small demon, raising an eyebrow at Kuwabara. "You must have trailed him too! I sensed a powerful demon in this building," The orange-haired boy declared, narrowing his eyes and looking around. "I must be on the right trail, cause I can feel his energy, just as if he were in the same...room..."  
  
Kuwabara trailed off, looking down at Hiei, who blinked back, looking amused.  
  
"I see," Hiei replied sarcastically. "Well, you must have been on this hunt for a VERY long time, trailing this demon."  
  
Kuwabara could feel the back of his neck turning red in embarrassment, so he decided to cover up for it.  
  
"Listen, Hiei, I didn't think you'd be here, okay?" he retorted, his face suddenly growing confused as he retracted his spirit sword. "Which brings up the question; why ARE you here?"  
  
Hiei rolled his eyes, Mokuba looking from the demon boy to the orange-haired teen from earlier at the doctor's office.  
  
"Because humans have very poor aim, and even poorer judgment," Hiei replied, irritated, walking toward the door.  
  
Kuwabara scratched his head, confused, as Mokuba followed after Hiei, looking worried.  
  
"Hey...you're that kid with the ghost from the doctor's office," Kuwabara cried suddenly, pointing at Mokuba. "What're you doing with HIEI?"  
  
Mokuba swallowed.  
  
"Er...he's helping me find my brother," The black-haired boy replied, glancing nervously over at Hiei.  
  
Kuwabara raised an eyebrow, following after the two as they walked down the dark hallway.  
  
"So, doing something NICE for a change, huh?" he taunted, grinning as he leaned forward.  
  
"Hmph," Hiei replied, gritting his teeth.  
  
************  
  
"Dark Necrofear! Attack that plant!" Yami Bakura declared, his fiend-ish monster lunging forward, its eyes glowing bright red. "Now!"  
  
Dark Necrofear let out a horrid screech as red beams shot out of its eyes, right at the large Plant of Darkness. The plant jerked to the right as the beams hit dead center, and let out an inhuman moan.  
  
"Counter attack," Yoko declared, noticing Yami Bakura looked somewhat weaker than before as his dark monster continued to try to attack the plant.  
  
The purple plant turned its head around quickly and grabbed Dark Necrofear, the very touch of the saliva melting the monster away to nothing at all with another terrible shriek that would have caused the hairs on anyone's neck to stand on end.  
  
Yami Bakura staggered backward, feeling weak after using up so much of his energy to summon his monsters, and then to have them defeated after only one attack. How could mere plants destroy his strongest fiend monster?!  
  
"I see you are retreating," Yoko observed, clearly amused. "I also notice that you seem to be weakening with each monster you summon. Could this be because the way you summon monsters is the same way I summon my plants?"  
  
Yami Bakura gritted his teeth and narrowed his dark eyes at the fox demon.  
  
"With spirit energy?" Yoko continued, his dark plant inching toward Yami Bakura, extending its wriggling roots closer, pulling itself along. "Just as I suspected. But even though it is considered a crime for a demon to take a human life, I'll make an exception. Remember, you brought this upon yourself."  
  
Yoko chuckled as Yami Bakura stood still, not knowing what to do. In a matter of seconds the plant would be upon him and devour him, just as it had Dark Necrofear and the Man-Eater Bug. But what else was there left to do now that he had used up all his spirit energy...?  
  
"You'll pay for this," Yami Bakura hissed, the Millennium Ring glowing brightly and the spirit retreating back the Millennium Ring, letting the regular Bakura back out.  
  
Bakura blinked, looking around in confusion. His gaze followed the huge roots in front of him and he looked up at the giant plant. His eyes widened in horror as he staggered backward.  
  
"Wh...what's going on?!" he cried, looking behind the plant where a bright yellow glow had engulfed Yoko.  
  
After a moment, the glow died away, Yami Bakura's spell on Kurama wearing off and allowing the regular Kurama to become the controller of the body once again. The dark plant vanished with Yoko's spirit, and a small seed fell harmlessly to the ground in front of a very shaken-looking Bakura.  
  
Kurama took a deep breath and walked forward toward Bakura, who blinked, gazing at Kurama strangely.  
  
"What just happened...?" Bakura asked quietly, still wide-eyed from the shock of waking up to find a giant, killer-plant in front of him.  
  
Kurama smiled, putting a hand on the white-haired boy's shoulder.  
  
"Nothing really, I suppose," he said, his gaze falling down on the ring around the boy's neck. "But why didn't you tell us earlier...?"  
  
Bakura's gaze dropped to the ground as he fingered the ring uneasily.  
  
"I...I don't know," he replied with a sigh, closing his eyes. "I was afraid. I didn't want to lose control, and so that's why I was in such a hurry last night. Not only to give Yugi the Millennium Eye, but also my Millennium Ring. It's caused me more trouble and pain than I can tell about."  
  
Kurama nodded.  
  
"I see," he replied giving Bakura a small smile. "Well, it seems that the spirit has retreated for now. This may be your chance to give it back to your friend."  
  
Bakura nodded, looking up at the red-haired boy.  
  
"That is, after we retrieve that eye and stop the demon from fulfilling his plans...whatever they may be," Kurama added darkly, looking off into the distance. "We'd best get going and try to find the others."  
  
"Yeah..." Bakura replied with a nod, casting one last glance down at the Millennium Ring.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, Yami pulled Tea and Mai aside quickly, allowing the orange and yellow demons to fall harmlessly to the ground behind him.  
  
"Stay in the bushes," Yami instructed in a commanding voice, stepping out onto the sidewalk again, pulling out his dueling deck. "If you want to take my puzzle, you'll have to beat me in a game first," he explained, and angry look in his eyes as he shuffled.  
  
The orange demon raised an eyebrow, suspiciously.  
  
"We are not interested in games, foolish human," he snarled in reply, flexing his claws. "We only want your power!"  
  
Yami smirked, pulling the top three cards off his deck as the two demons lunged for him again.  
  
"You want my power?" he asked, smiling as the cards began to glow brightly, his puzzle lighting up as well. "Then I shall grant your wish! Go! Buster Blader! Dark Magician! Fuse into the Dark Paladin and destroy these demons!"  
  
There was a brilliant flash of white light, which caused Tea and Mai to cover their eyes with their hands to shield them from the light, and the two demons halted, looking worried.  
  
"W...what is the human doing?!" The yellow one cried as a figure emerged from the white light, wearing turquoise armor that was lined in bronze and wielding a silver sword.  
  
The Dark Paladin narrowed his eyes, glaring at the two cowardly demons below. Tea's hair blew back in the wind that had been formed as a result of the fusion. Yami stood behind the Dark Paladin, his eyes just as dark and angry as his monsters.  
  
"Attack!" Yami declared, thrusting his first forward as the dark monster slashed his silver sword forward, cutting clean through the two demons, destroying them in a puff of blue smoke.  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 15  
  
^_^ REVIEW!  
  
Priest Seto: ^_^ Please do!  
  
Koto: O.O Now that's action for you!  
  
Red: ^_~ Next chapter up soon. 


	16. Chapter Sixteen: The Doctor

Chapter Sixteen: The Doctor  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Red: And...chapter 16 is ready, I think.  
  
Koto: It is! ^_^! More action! Violence! And bloo...  
  
Priest Seto: ^^; Chapter 16!  
  
*************  
  
Chapter Sixteen: The Doctor  
  
"Spirit Gun!" Yusuke yelled, narrowing his eyes as a blue blast emerged from his finger, nailing the laughing demon head-on, and sending him flying by into the brick wall with a horrible crunch.  
  
Joey's eyes widened.  
  
"Whoa...now that's beating an opponent with one finger!" he exclaimed, Yusuke smirking and blowing on his finger, as if it were a smoking gun.  
  
"Exactly," Yusuke replied, turning around and crossing his arms across his chest. "Which is why you can just sit back and watch the show from a safe distance and NOT get in the way."  
  
Joey immediately frowned, almost wishing he hadn't complimented the black-haired spirit detective.  
  
"Now wait a minute, I just said it was a pretty cool move," The blonde-haired boy pointed out, narrowing his eyes. "I didn't say I didn't have cool moves too."  
  
Yusuke rolled his eyes, casting another glance over at the smoldered creature.  
  
"Well, that one's not gonna be getting up again anytime soon," he declared, walking toward the corner of the street. "We may as well catch up with the others and see if they've met up with anymore. Or found Kurama and the little white-haired kid."  
  
"Bakura," Joey retorted, narrowing his eyes and sprinting after Yusuke.  
  
************  
  
Amber backed up, gulping as the red demon chuckled and moved toward them, his sharp claws scratching the blacktop of the basketball court as he moved closer to them. Pearl narrowed her eyes, looking down at her pearl necklace.  
  
"Maybe if we put our abilities together, we can freeze that monster long enough for us to get away," Came Yukina's soft-spoken voice from behind her.  
  
The white-haired American girl turned around and smirked, her brown eyes twinkling.  
  
"No way! With our powers added, we can freeze that beast for good," Pearl declared, pumping her fist.  
  
"Just don't screw up, Pearl," Amber sighed in English, Keiko, Duke and she letting the smaller two girls up front to use their powers.  
  
"I won't!" Pearl retorted, clenching her fists, determined not to look foolish in front of the green-haired girl with ice powers and more especially, Duke. "Ice powers!" she declared, her pearl lighting up with the soft blue light as always and instantly, shards of ice began covering the demon's body.  
  
"Wha...what's going on here?!" The red demon cried, trying to wrench himself away from the ice, but Yukina closed her glowing eyes and added her own powers to Pearl's causing a large sheet of ice to form over the whole monster.  
  
Duke shivered, rubbing his bare arms furiously.  
  
"Sheesh, I didn't know that using ice powers meant changing the climate," he joked, his green eyes fixated on the struggling demon, who was now buried completely under a thick sheet of ice.  
  
Pearl and Yukina relaxed, their powers fading, but the monster remaining frozen. Keiko sighed with relief, holding Puu close to her chest. Puu's eyes were bulging, Keiko having squeezed the creature so hard while the demon was unfrozen.  
  
"Oh, sorry," Keiko murmured embarrassedly, letting go of the blue bird-like creature, which flew out of her arms and landed on her shoulder, preferring to be out of reach of her arms.  
  
"Puu," It chirped.  
  
"All right!" Pearl declared, thrusting her fist into the air and jumping up and down. "We did it! We did it!"  
  
Amber rolled her eyes, smiling as she put her hands on her hips.  
  
"You'd better stop gloating or all the hot air is going to melt the demon," she joked, Pearl sighing and turning around to face the others.  
  
"We STILL froze the stupid thing," she replied, sticking her tongue out at the frozen demon.  
  
Yukina shrugged politely.  
  
"Well, at least he didn't hurt anyone," she replied softly. "But we still haven't found Kurama or Bakura."  
  
Duke nodded, his face growing serious again.  
  
"That's right, we haven't," he muttered, putting his hand to his chin in thought. "We'd better keep searching, in that case. We must be going in the right direction to have run into the twin of that demon with the Millennium Eye."  
  
Keiko sighed.  
  
"Let's get then," she muttered, walking toward the other side of the basketball court. "I doubt we're going to have any luck just standing around waiting to get attacked again."  
  
************  
  
Seto moaned, his shoulder aching from where Dr. Liz had injected whatever it had been she'd injected, as he tried to roll over, but found he couldn't. Vague and clouded thoughts running through his mind, the brown-haired teen opened one eye.  
  
Blinking in confusion, he realized that he was in some sort of back room, a window only a few feet away from the table where he'd been place on. Angrily, he realized that his arms and legs had been strapped down, that being the reason he couldn't move.  
  
"That doctor...really was up to no good after all," Seto muttered, trying to pull one of his arms free from the tightly bound straps that were holding him to the table, to no avail.  
  
Sighing, he leaned back again, taking a deep breath and trying to figure out what to do next. He didn't know how long he'd been knocked out for, or where he could be by now. There was no noise, and the dark room looked similar to Dr. Liz's office.  
  
Thinking of the office, Seto suddenly gasped, remembering Mokuba.  
  
"Mokuba!" he cried, wondering where he was...or if he'd even managed to get out of the vents all right. "Did that doctor get him too...?" Seto muttered, biting his lip.  
  
Pulling at the straps again, Seto clenched his fists. One thing was for sure: he couldn't just wait around for someone to come back. He had to get free and figure out what had happened to his younger brother.  
  
************  
  
Yami narrowed his eyes as the two demons disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke. The Dark Paladin closed his eyes mystically and vanished, the Millennium Puzzle's wild glow dying down. Tea's blue eyes were wide with a mixture of awe and fear as she watched the wind swirling around her friend die down as well.  
  
"I've...I've never seen Yugi like that," she thought to herself, quivering slightly. "No, it must be the other Yugi then. Even when Yugi's angry, he never looks like that."  
  
"What the heck was that?!" Mai interrupted, standing up and brushing leaves off of her clothes and out of her blonde hair. "You summoned a duel monster and a tornado all in one there, Yugi!"  
  
Yami blinked, turning around and facing Mai, a serious expression on his face, but not one containing the same anger Tea had seen a few moments ago. Tea sighed, pulling herself up off the cold ground, beating the back of her pants gently to get rid of the pine needles and leaves.  
  
"I had to defeat them," Yami replied calmly, looking seriously at them. "But now that I think about it, it really did me no good. We still don't know where Bakura and Kurama are, and..."  
  
Yugi was cut off by a call, and the three turned around to see two figures coming up to them in the distance, a white-haired boy waving anxiously.  
  
"Hey, Yugi!" Bakura called, hurrying up to his friends, Kurama with him. "Where have you guys been?"  
  
Tea gaped at the two.  
  
"Where have WE been?!" The brown-haired girl cried, her eyes narrowing. "It's more like where have YOU two been! We were looking all over for you guys after you vanished during the battle. We thought that weird demon kidnapped you or something."  
  
Yami nodded, carefully studying both boys' expressions. Clearly, he thought to himself, noticing how Bakura was fingering the Millennium Ring. Their disappearance was not due to the demon, but rather to a Millennium Item...  
  
"We took a detour, that's all," Kurama replied, smiling to himself as Bakura pulled off the Millennium Ring, holding it out to a surprised Yami, the golden item glittering in the lights from the parking lot.  
  
"Yugi...I don't know how I got the ring back again," Bakura confessed, looking straight at his spiky-haired friend. "And I meant to give it to you yesterday along with the Millennium Eye, but in all the confusion, I forgot about it."  
  
Yami nodded, taking the Millennium Ring from Bakura with a small smile.  
  
"I'm returning it to you again," The white-haired boy declared, sighing and looking down at the pavement. "I can't handle it...or control its powers."  
  
Yami smiled.  
  
"That's not exactly true, Bakura," he replied, putting the Millennium Ring in his jacket pocket. "The Millennium Ring has a darker past than suits your personality anyway. It would not be fitting for you to possess such an item. Besides, you wouldn't want to run into him again, would you?"  
  
Bakura cracked a smile, but only barely.  
  
"No...I wouldn't," he sighed, just glad to be rid of the item.  
  
Kurama looked around, noticing that only Yugi, Tea, and Mai were in the parking lot with them.  
  
"Where did the others go?" The red-haired demon inquired, raising an eyebrow.  
  
Tea stepped forward.  
  
"We all split up to help look for you two," The brown-haired girl replied, biting her lip. "But just a second ago, we ran into two weird demons that looked exactly like the one we were fighting against back in the street a few hours ago."  
  
Kurama narrowed his eyes seriously.  
  
"It is possible that duplicating himself really was merely a diversion while he went for backup," he murmured, Yami nodding in agreement.  
  
"I agree," he replied, his Millennium Puzzle glinting in the light from the streetlamps. "We should find the others before they are confronted by another one of these demons."  
  
"Yes," Kurama replied with a nod, Bakura, Mai, and Tea murmuring their agreement.  
  
"Let's hope Joey and that other punk haven't killed each other by now," Mai mused as the group began their journey again, recalling that the blonde-haired boy had gone off with Yusuke during the search. "It seems like their natures clash, if you know what I mean."  
  
Mai had intended her comment as a joke to liven the atmosphere, but no one laughed nor even cracked a smile. Biting her lip, the blonde-haired woman trailed behind the others, getting the feeling that the situation was more serious than she was taking it for.  
  
***********  
  
Dr. Wayne sighed, looking through sheets of paper on his desk in front of him, the only light in the room coming from a green-shaded lamp similar to the one in Dr. Liz's office. The blonde-haired doctor, at the minute, was slumped down in a chair across the room, glaring at Dr. Wayne as he studied his notes.  
  
"Well?" she asked in a low drone, impatient.  
  
She'd been waiting for hours for the older doctor to figure something out with her "find" but so far, nothing of Dr. Wayne's interest seemed to have surfaced.  
  
Dr. Wayne sighed, picking up the stack of papers and stacking them on the table neatly.  
  
"Well what?" he asked calmly, looking rather disappointed.  
  
Dr. Liz could feel her anger rising.  
  
"Well did you find what you were looking for or what?" she snapped, standing up abruptly, her heels clacking against the cold floor.  
  
Dr. Wayne shrugged, looking at his papers once again.  
  
"I can't really say that I have," he replied calmly, his eyes confused. "I don't understand what you saw in that boy. In my opinion, he was just an average teenager."  
  
Dr. Liz clenched her fist, her highly polished nails digging into her palm as she did so.  
  
"He was talking to a spirit this morning," she replied through gritted teeth, narrowing her eyes at the brown-haired doctor. "He and his younger brother could see this ghost, and the other boy sensed it..."  
  
She trailed off, remembering Mokuba, who hadn't been in the room when she had returned with Dr. Wayne.  
  
"...his brother?" Dr. Wayne asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically. "I was under the impression you had only locked up one boy."  
  
Dr. Liz blushed red.  
  
"Well, he doesn't matter anyway," she replied hastily, trying to cover up for her mistake. "But if you've finished studying that kid what do you want to do with him now? If we let him go he'll sue us."  
  
Dr. Wayne sighed, standing up and walking over to the window, pondering his options.  
  
"Well, we'll just have to do something about that now, won't we?" he murmured.  
  
**********  
  
End of Chapter Sixteen  
  
^_^ Review!  
  
Red: And next chapter will be up SOONER than this one was, that's for sure.  
  
Priest Seto: ^_^;  
  
Koto: x_X; You're not a very descriptive writer, are you, SK?  
  
-_-; 


	17. Chapter Seventeen: The Rescue

Chapter Seventeen: Rescue  
  
Notes: ^_^ Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Red: Yada yada, here's Chapter Seventeen, and Koto's on suspension for a bit.  
  
Priest Seto: X_X! *reading* Things are not getting better, they are getting worse!  
  
************  
  
Chapter Seventeen: Rescue  
  
Atokata narrowed his eyes from the shadowy realm that he'd returned to, Uroko walking in the strange room and trembling, bowing to his master.  
  
"I...I hate to disturb your thoughts, Master Atokata," The green-skinned demon murmured, stammering. "But it seems that all of my brothers have been...defeated in battle by the humans and demon traitor."  
  
Atokata sighed, his white eyes glowing out of the darkness, boring into Uroko's small yellow ones.  
  
"M...master, I am terribly sorry for this setback..." he began, but there was a harsh shriek from the shadow monster.  
  
"You come to disturb me and inform me of the weakness of you and your brethren?!" The demon demanded angrily, his voice rising. "You have been impowered with an ancient power tool, have you not? You alone should have been enough to vanquish the Spirit Detective and a handful of humans!"  
  
Uroko gulped, backing up slightly, trembling.  
  
"Y...yes, I know master, but..." he began, but Atokata cut him off once again.  
  
"Go and destroy them all!" The shadow demanded, narrowing his glowing eyes into tiny slits in the darkness. "And do not return until you have."  
  
Uroko nodded, beads of sweat dripping down his cheek.  
  
"U...understood, master," he replied, scampering out of the underground lair, leaving the shadow demon in silence.  
  
Atokata closed his eyes, thinking to himself.  
  
"And so on my quest for power I encounter a blockade," he murmured, sighing to himself. "Even ancient magic and the powers of spirit world cannot stop me, however. Should Uroko fail, those fools have yet to see my real power."  
  
************  
  
  
  
Priest Seto bit his lip worriedly as he floated down the dark streets of Domino City. It had been a while since he'd spoken with Seto Kaiba, but the boy and his brother had only left to visit someone briefly, and had yet to return.  
  
"Something has gone wrong...I can sense it," The priest murmured, narrowing his blue eyes as he glanced around at the tall buildings in the distance. "Something down that way..."  
  
The priest floated toward the downtown of Domino, narrowing his eyes.  
  
*************  
  
"So where are we even going...?" Kuwabara sighed, trailing after Mokuba and Hiei, who he'd been following for the past twenty minutes through the dark hospital hallways. "I THOUGHT you guys said we were looking for someone."  
  
Mokuba nodded worriedly, closing his eyes.  
  
"We ARE looking for someone," he replied softly, still clutching the Millennium Rod in his arms. "My niisama, Seto Kaiba."  
  
Hiei glanced to the right as they came to a corner and started down the right side of the hallway. Kuwabara folded his arms across his chest, looking skeptically after the small demon.  
  
"Then why are we following Hiei?" he asked, Hiei pausing and glancing back at Kuwabara. "I mean, I'M the one with the ultra-sensing-capabilities here, after all."  
  
Mokuba blinked, looking up at the orange-haired boy.  
  
"You can find people...?" he asked, looking hopeful.  
  
Kuwabara grinned, pointing at himself.  
  
"I've rescued PLENTY of people thanks to my great sixth-sense!" he declared boldly.  
  
Hiei rolled his eyes.  
  
"All right then, you find the boy's brother for everyone's sake," he replied impassively, clearly showing little trust in Kuwabara's abilities. "I'm tired of walking around this hospital."  
  
Kuwabara closed his eyes, trying to focus on the people in the building. A moment later, he opened his eyes again, scratching his head.  
  
"Did you find him?!" Mokuba asked, his eyes wide as he looked up at the boy.  
  
Kuwabara shrugged, pointing to the right.  
  
"Well, there's a guy in a room on that side of the hallway that seems to be trying to escape..." he muttered, pondering on the situation. "That could be him."  
  
Hiei huffed as Mokuba's eyes brightened and he scampered down the right hallway.  
  
"Unless, of course, humans always keep their patients locked up against their will," he replied sarcastically, following after Mokuba.  
  
************  
  
Seto jerked at the bonds again, finding himself completely locked in and unable to break free. Panting, he leaned back and closed his eyes, trying to think of another way out. The room he was trapped in was completely dark, with the exception of the moonlight that was coming in through the open window.  
  
"Yelling will only attract that woman again..." Seto muttered. "And no one would find me here anyway. How am I going to get out of this one...?"  
  
************  
  
"Yugi!"  
  
Yami looked up from where he, Kurama, Bakura, Tea, and Mai had been standing, debating on which direction they should go in next. Running toward him was Pearl, Amber, Keiko, Yukina, and Duke, Amber waving her arm wildly.  
  
"Guys!" she cried, halting a few feet in front of them and leaning over to catch her breath, a lock of her long brown hair falling in front of her face. "Hey! You'd never believe what we met up with back there at the basketball court..."  
  
"A demon identical to the one we fought earlier?" Yami guessed, looking seriously at the group, and much to his amazement, none of them looked injured, as one would expect from an encounter with a demon.  
  
Keiko nodded furiously, looking worriedly around, scanning the members of Yugi's group.  
  
"Hey...where's Yusuke?" she asked, cutting off Pearl, who was about to launch into as best explanation of the battle as she knew how to give in Japanese.  
  
Kurama narrowed his eyes.  
  
"We haven't met up with both he or that Joey boy since we split up earlier," he replied. "Perhaps they are still searching...or have run into a demon similar to the one you five did."  
  
Tea gulped.  
  
"Do you think Joey can handle himself like that...?" she asked nervously, looking at Yami. "I mean, I know he can be tough in a street fight, but he doesn't have nearly the same kind of powers you do when it comes to monsters."  
  
Kurama smiled reassuringly.  
  
"Ah, but he probably can't get into too much trouble with a demon with Yusuke around," he assured her. "That is, if they haven't already started a fight amongst themselves."  
  
Tea sighed worriedly, the past two days of nervousness getting to her. First it was the other dimension...and people having to fight against each other for freedom...and now demons and missing friends.  
  
"I hope this day ends soon...and with a happy ending," she murmured to herself, closing her blue eyes.  
  
Yami sighed, looking toward one end of town, his Millennium Puzzle lighting up slightly.  
  
"Perhaps we should investigate in this direction," he suggested, Kurama nodding his approval.  
  
"Yes, let's," The red-haired demon replied.  
  
***********  
  
Dr. Wayne shuffled through his desk drawer, pulling out a doctor's black case, and opened it up, revealing several syringes. He pulled out one that was filled with a thick, yellow serum, and squeezed out a little.  
  
Dr. Liz, who was sitting on the arm of a chair across the room raised an eyebrow and tilted her head at the doctor.  
  
"What are you planning to do with the kid then?" she asked, slightly curious. "I mean, we can't exactly let him go free; he'll spill all our secrets."  
  
Dr. Wayne smiled confidently, standing up and walking toward a door in the back of the room.  
  
"Exactly," he replied, casting a nefarious grin at Dr. Liz. "Which is why he won't be leaving at all."  
  
Dr. Liz's eyes widened as she stood up and followed Dr. Wayne to the door, which he opened and turned on the lights.  
  
"Funny way you have of dealing with people, doctor," she replied icily, glancing over at Seto, who was still strapped down.  
  
The brown-haired boy perked up at the sound of the door opening and turned his head sharply to see the two corrupt doctors enter the room. Seto narrowed his blue eyes in anger, clenching his fists and pulling at the bonds again.  
  
"What do you want with me?" he demanded angrily, Dr. Wayne squeezing a bit more out of the syringe, examining it with a serene look on his face.  
  
Dr. Liz leaned against the doorway, interested to see what would happen in the next few minutes. She smirked malevolently.  
  
"Want with you...?" Dr. Wayne asked casually, looking down at Seto as if he were a student in a classroom with a question, rather than a captive of an insane doctor. "Why, nothing at all. It appears our meeting was a mistake."  
  
Dr. Liz frowned at this, crossing her arms angrily over her chest.  
  
"It was no mistake," she snapped at the brown-haired doctor, who didn't look bothered by his assistant's comments. "That boy was talking to a ghost this morning whether it showed up in your tests or not."  
  
"Thank you Elizabeth, that will be all," Dr. Wayne replied calmly. "Now, as I was saying, I apologize for this rather messy collision of ours, and of course, we will let you go at once."  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes, trying to move away from the doctor, although, being strapped down the table, that was pretty much impossible. He eyed the yellow syringe in Dr. Wayne's hands skeptically.  
  
"No you're not," Seto replied, not believing a word the doctor was saying. "What do you want with me? Tell me!" he repeated, growing more impatient...as well as anxious.  
  
Dr. Wayne was only a foot away from him now, having finished playing with the syringe and now lowered it toward Seto's arm.  
  
************  
  
"Spirit Sword!"  
  
Kuwabara slashed two neat cuts across an old wooden door of an office with his orange spirit sword, causing the two chunks to fall to the ground with a clatter. Hiei rolled his eyes, walking over the mess of the door.  
  
"You just had to go and cut it down," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "And I'll bet it was unlocked too."  
  
Mokuba peered inside, feeling apprehensive.  
  
"Niisama?!" he called, noticing that all the lights were on in the room, and there was a door ajar in the back of the room. "Niisama, are you here?!"  
  
Seto's eyes widened upon hearing his younger brother's voice. Why had he come after him right then? Who knew what the two doctors would do to the young boy if they caught him!  
  
"Mokuba! Get away from here!" Seto yelled back, Dr. Liz and Dr. Wayne both turning around.  
  
"Liz, get rid of whoever that is," Dr. Wayne snapped, his voice no longer calm. "No one can know about this."  
  
Dr. Liz cracked her knuckles, as if to show off in front of the older doctor as she pulled the door open and stepped back into the office.  
  
"It's just the teenager's brat-brother," she replied calmly, looking around. "He won't be much of a threat..."  
  
Kuwabara gasped, catching sight of Dr. Liz as she looked toward the threesome that was standing in the doorway.  
  
"It's that doctor from this morning!" The orange-haired boy cried, his eyes wide. "I KNEW she was trouble!"  
  
"Where's niisama?!" Mokuba cried, running toward the door that Dr. Liz was guarding, but tripped over a piece of the broken door and falling to his feet, the Millennium Rod skidding across the room and falling against the wall with a clank.  
  
Dr. Liz grinned, grabbing a syringe off a shelf behind her and heading toward Mokuba.  
  
"Well, look who finally showed up for their appointment?" she said in a sweety-sweet voice, grinning as she got near Mokuba, who was trying to get back to his feet.  
  
"Back away from the kid, or else I'll be forced to attack you...even though you're a girl..." Kuwabara muttered, unsure, not wanting to break his code. "And my code says you can't attack girls..."  
  
Dr. Liz rolled her eyes calmly when something came hurtling toward her, knocking her off her feet and into the desk behind her. Mokuba blinked as Hiei flexed his arm calmly.  
  
"Humans are of no real threat for the most part," he explained to Mokuba calmly, who was scrambling to get into the next room, where Dr. Wayne had set down the yellow syringe and was walking toward the office.  
  
"Now see here! This is a private office!" Dr. Wayne declared angrily, acting as though he wasn't about to murder a "patient" in the back room.  
  
"Give me back my brother!" Mokuba shouted, running up to the man and kicking in him the shin, causing Dr. Wayne to wince and bend down.  
  
"You brat!" he yelled, glaring at Mokuba who, stepped backward nervously.  
  
Kuwabara peered into the next room, looking around and spotting Seto, who was desperately trying to get free from his bindings.  
  
"Hey, you're that other guy from this morning..." The orange-haired boy observed, walking over to Seto, his Spirit Sword still extended.  
  
"Yes, now get me free!" Seto demanded, straining to see if Mokuba was all right in the next room.  
  
"All right, all right," Kuwabara replied calmly, slashing through the leather straps, freeing Seto, who leapt to his feet.  
  
"No need to thank me, just part of my job..." Kuwabara replied, trailing off as Seto dashed by him and into the next room. "Hey..."  
  
************  
  
End of Chapter 17  
  
^_^ REVIEW!  
  
Red: ^_~ And next chapter up soon! 


	18. Chapter Eighteen: Purpose and Reason

Chapter Eighteen: Purpose and Reason  
  
Notes: Thanks for reviewing! ^^;;; And SO sorry this chapter took so long. I've been having computer problems again. ;  
  
Red: Yeeep. And here's the next chapter, I guess.  
  
Juri: ^_^ And I, Juri, have decided to take a wack at being a muse! I'm certainly cute enough, and I always take over when Koto gets kicked out anyway.  
  
Koto: X_x; What?!  
  
Priest Seto: o_o; I think I'm starting to like Red Archery Girl a lot more than I used to.  
  
Red: -__- Thannkkksss a lot, priest.  
  
^^;;;  
  
************  
  
Chapter Eighteen: Purpose and Reason  
  
"What is going on here?!" Dr. Wayne demanded angrily, Seto sprinting into the room behind the doctor. "I demand you all leave this instant!"  
  
"Niisama!" Mokuba cried, running toward Seto, but Dr. Wayne reached out and grabbed the young boy's arm, wrenching him back toward the desk angrily.  
  
"Leave him alone!" Seto growled, aiming a punch at the brown-haired doctor, but Dr. Wayne dodged easily and knocked the boy off his feet by tripping him.  
  
Kuwabara peered into the room with his Spirit Sword still extended, narrowing his eyes at the doctor.  
  
"All right, just give up the kid and no one gets hurt," he said menacingly, looking seriously at Dr. Wayne as Seto instantly got back to his feet.  
  
Dr. Liz groaned, pulling herself up off the desk and rubbing her chest, glaring at Hiei, who was considering the various possibilities of finishing the two off.  
  
"You know that kind of threat never works," Hiei muttered as Seto snatched up the Millennium Rod off the ground, just now realizing that he had been missing it.  
  
"Let Mokuba go," The brown-haired teenager demanded, narrowing his cold, blue eyes at Dr. Wayne.  
  
Dr. Wayne smirked, pulling a pocketknife out of the pocket of his white lab-coat and putting it up to Mokuba's cheek, causing the black-haired boy to cringe as the cold metal was pressed up against him.  
  
"Not unless you're going to do what I say," Dr. Wayne replied casually, his eyes that were usually calm now looking mad and murderous. "And starting with which, you'll put down that pole."  
  
Seto gritted his teeth, concentrating his energy into the Millennium Rod, trying to tap into its powers once more. He'd only used its mind-controling abilities once before, and that was on accident. But if he'd tapped into it once, he could surely do it again...  
  
"Leave him alone!" Seto repeated angrily, the rod glimmering slightly, but the docotor did not release the black-haired boy.  
  
Dr. Wayne smirked, the knife cutting up against Mokuba's cheek, causing the boy to whimper.  
  
  
  
"Niisama..." he murmured, his eyes half-closed in fear and pain.  
  
Suddenly, there was a large flash of flame, and Dr. Wayne was send hurtling backwards toward the window, only missing crashing right through it because of a statue of a dog that had been on the floor which he tripped over, sending him fall to the ground, the knife beside him.  
  
Seto dashed toward Mokuba, who was rubbing his cheek tenderly, the blood from the small cut smearing.  
  
"Mokuba! Are you all right?" Seto asked worriedly, slipping the Millennium Rod through his belt for the time being as he knelt down next to his brother.  
  
"I told you those types of threats never worked," Hiei muttered, the flame around his right hand dying down after having punched the doctor.  
  
Dr. Liz backed up, narrowing her eyes at the four standing before her.  
  
"I'm okay..." Mokuba muttered, trying not to cry over such a trivial cut, but he winced.  
  
Seto gave him a small smile and helped him to his feet before narrowing his eyes at Dr. Liz, who was watching all of them closely, her blue eyes narrowed into tiny slits.  
  
"You really aren't normal humans, are you?" she asked coldly, narrowing her eyes at them.  
  
Hiei huffed.  
  
"Are you actually calling me a human? I don't think I've ever been more insulted..." he started, but Seto cut him off.  
  
"You could say that," Seto replied coldly. "But you're not exactly a "normal" human yourself."  
  
Dr. Liz smirked.  
  
"No, I'm perfectly normal," she replied calmly. "Just another human in the race out there, trying to make it big, and I got my chance here with Doctor Wayne."  
  
Dr. Wayne moaned, putting his hand to his singed lab coat as he stood up shakily, looking up at the group in front of him, not scared, but excited.  
  
"Doing what? Studying live humans and then killing them off?" Seto retorted angrily.  
  
"That's sick," Mokuba agreed, clutching his older brother's hand.  
  
Dr. Wayne grinned.  
  
"No, it's science," he replied, walking toward his cabinet and searching through it, several vials and syringes clinking around as he rummaged around in it. "All my life I've been searching for answers to questions about things humans can't do...until one day I witnessed something incredible, and I realized that in rare cases, humans COULD learn to do the impossible."  
  
Dr. Wayne smiled to himself, his brown eyes half-closed as he meditated on the past few years, pulling out strange syringe and looking at it.  
  
"Painstaking effort and time was put into my research, and all that was needed was an actual case," he continued. "An actual example of a human who was that one in a million; and sure enough, one day, a woman came to pay me a visit, and she provided me with the information needed. I moved to Domino and hired Elizabeth to be my "watchdog" on the lookout for the ones we were searching for. And now, we've found them."  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes, clenching his fist angrily as something familiar seemed to enter the room behind them. Kuwabara went rigid as he sensed the spirit of Priest Seto, who'd finally managed to track down his reincarnate. Now, he was merely listening with narrowed eyes as the twisted doctor told his story.  
  
"I think you're forgetting that I am most definitely NOT human, and couldn't care less about your "research," much less what goes on here," Hiei piped up in a monotone, looking extremely irritated. "I've finished my duty, and I'm leaving."  
  
Kuwabara gulped, looking around for Priest Seto's spirit.  
  
"That ghost is back again..." he muttered, Seto raising an eyebrow and turning around to see Priest Seto floating behind him.  
  
"Why...?" Seto started but Priest Seto nodded toward the two doctors behind him.  
  
"You hadn't returned, so I came to the conclusion that something was keeping you," The priest replied, narrowing his cold, blue eyes. "And I was correct, apparently.  
  
"A woman gave them the information..." Priest Seto thought to himself as Seto pulled out the Millennium Rod once more, Kuwabara looking down at it curiously, still holding his own weapon. "Could it have been...her?"  
  
Dr. Wayne raised an eyebrow at the black-haired demon, who was turning to leave.  
  
"Not human, eh?" he asked, smirking as suddenly Hiei was lifted off the ground, now hovering several feet above the floor, looking rather astonished. "Well, that's fine as well. By the way, when I said something incredible happened that I witnessed, I wasn't lying."  
  
Seto's eyes widened.  
  
"What in the...?!" he began when Dr. Wayne turned his hand toward Seto, sending the levitated Hiei flying toward the remaining three, causing them to all fall to the ground.  
  
Dr. Liz's eyes widened as she staggered backwards, away from Dr. Wayne.  
  
"Yo...you never said you could do that, Wayne!" she cried, narrowing her eyes angrily. "Why didn't you just run your tests on yourself if you knew that you had those kinds of abilities?!"  
  
Dr. Wayne smirked, tossing an empty syringe aside as the foursome got back to their feet, all of them looking shocked.  
  
"Because, Elizabeth," Dr. Wayne replied, narrowing his eyes at them. "I discovered that one of my serums, when injected, could tap into mental powers for a brief period of time. It wouldn't last long enough for me to study, and besides which, it was artificial. I needed someone with born abilities."  
  
Dr. Liz blinked, totally confused now by the sudden emergence of Dr. Wayne's powers. Seto clutched the rod, pulling out in anger and holding it in front of him, the Eye of Horus on the top glowing brightly.  
  
"Stop it!" he demanded, and Dr. Wayne, who had been smirking a moment before, suddenly grew serious-looking and his arms fell limply to his sides.  
  
Seto took a deep breath, plotting his next move carefully. He'd done it, though, he reminded himself. He'd managed to tap into the mystical item's powers once again.  
  
"Wayne...?" Dr. Liz asked, tilting her head to the side as she noticed her boss's strange appearance. "What are you doing...? Go kill them!"  
  
"No. Go downstairs and turn yourself into the police," Seto declared, narrowing his eyes. "Do not use your powers under any circumstances, and inform the police of all the experiments you've done. Go quietly with them and don't fight."  
  
Dr. Liz gasped as Dr. Wayne walked slowly toward the door, as if he were a puppet and Seto was pulling the strings.  
  
"What are you doing?! Snap out of it!" she yelled, reaching out to grab his shoulder, but Seto turned his Millennium Item toward her, and her eyes grew blank as well.  
  
"You go with him and do the same," Seto ordered, his arm shaking slightly as he held the rod up, Dr. Liz's eyes blank, as if mesmerized by the item's powers.  
  
Hiei raised an eyebrow as the woman followed Dr. Wayne to the door and the two walked away quietly, just as Seto had ordered. Priest Seto's eyes widened, impressed that Seto had learned to use the Millennium Rod's powers at will...rather than have the item's powers act off his emotions, like the last time.  
  
Mokuba's eyes were wide as he stepped away from Seto, looking nervously up at him. Seto's eyes were dark and focused and the Millennium Rod's glow was eerie...almost like how Malik's and Yami Malik's looked in Battle City when he'd use the Millennium Rod's powers in anger.  
  
No...not the same, Mokuba thought to himself, tilting his head and looked up at Seto as he closed his eyes, sighing and relaxing his concentration, his arm falling to his side, the Millennium Rod's glow dying down.  
  
Yami Malik would look crazy and power-hungry as he used the rod for evil. Seto, however, had a very different look in his eyes, Mokuba decided to himself. Niisama used the rod's power again to protect me.  
  
"Interesting," Hiei muttered looking over at Seto. "You transfer your energy into that weapon, I assume?"  
  
Seto nodded slowly, looking down at the rod.  
  
"Yeah..." he muttered before narrowing his eyes at Hiei. "Who are you?"  
  
Hiei didn't reply, and merely stared. Mokuba piped up, however.  
  
"He's this really, really nice guy who I accidentally fell on and helped me come find you!" Mokuba declared, smiling happily, glad that he'd managed to get to Seto before Dr. Liz and Dr. Wayne had done something else horrible to him.  
  
"NICE?!" Kuwabara gaped, his jaw dropping as he cast a glance over at the black-haired demon. "Hiei?!"  
  
Mokuba nodded nervously, a half-smile still present on his face.  
  
"Er…yeah," he replied, sweating slightly. "Well, at least he was helpful to me."  
  
"I thank you then," Seto said in a calm voice, tucking the Millennium Rod back through his belt for safe-keeping, and turning to Priest Seto. "Now what did Karim want to see you about?" he asked, raising an eyebrow at the spirit as Kuwabara yawned, heading toward the door.  
  
Priest Seto looking uncomfortably toward the floor. Not everything had been quite sorted out with Karim, he thought to himself, remembering back to their conversation a few hours earlier. After all, Karim had been employed by Bastet to take his place. But where did that leave the priest?  
  
"Nothing," Priest Seto replied with a sigh, still debating on the matter. "Seems that Bastet thought he'd do a better monitoring job in the city than I would."  
  
"Come on if we want to catch up with Urameshi before they catch the demon," The orange-haired human called to Hiei, who was leaning against the wall in the office, his arms folded across his shirt that was now stained dark crimson on one side.  
  
Mokuba tilted his head to the side.  
  
"Demon?" he asked.  
  
Priest Seto also looked up, interested.  
  
"Demon…as in a monster, like the ones we used to have battles with?" he asked curiously.  
  
"Yeah, a demon," Kuwabara replied, narrowing his eyes. "We trailed it to this city last night, and now we're trying to capture it before it can cause anymore damage."  
  
"Do you need any help?" Mokuba asked brightly, eager to repay the two for their kindness.  
  
Hiei huffed, unfolding his arms and walking into the hallway.  
  
"No," he replied coldly, Seto raising an eyebrow at Mokuba, a little taken back that his brother had just volunteered them both to help to complete strangers.  
  
Kuwabara rolled his eyes, his gaze wandering down to the Millennium Rod.  
  
"Maybe we could use your help," he replied, gesturing toward the Millennium Item. "What does that pole-thingy do, anyway? Make people follow your orders?"  
  
Seto narrowed his blue eyes at Kuwabara seriously.  
  
"In a sense," he replied. "But it's not as simple as that."  
  
The brown-haired boy put his hand into his pocket and walked toward the door, Mokuba and Priest Seto looking curiously after him.  
  
"I am in your debt, so if you require my help, I'll do what I can," Seto replied calmly, sighing, wishing very much that Mokuba hadn't needed a doctor's appointment that morning.  
  
Mokuba smiled.  
  
"And I'll help too!" he added.  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 18  
  
^_^ Review!  
  
Red: Yeah…and next chapter up sometime over the weekend, hopefully. Sorry this one took so long to get up.  
  
Juri: ^_^ See you next time! 


	19. Chapter Nineteen: Teamwork

Chapter Nineteen: Teamwork  
  
Notes: Again sorry for lack of updates. X_x; I've been getting good ideas, but never seeming to have time to write. ^_^; No, this is Juri as in the green-eared referee with a tail from the end of the Dark Tournament saga. And since I am very unsure of what this "no chat dialogue" in author notes for stories means, my muses won't be commenting for a while. XX; (I don't want my story removed)  
  
And so, I take of Juri and Koto and Red and Priest's jobs, and say "Thanks for reviewing! And please enjoy Chapter Nineteen!"  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Nineteen: Teamwork  
  
Yami walked ahead of the rest of the group, holding the Millennium Ring out in front of him. By tapping into its powers, the five pointers on the end were now serving as a way of tracking the Millennium Eye.  
  
"All we have to do is continue to follow this path made by the Millennium Ring and it should be quite simple to find the Millennium Eye which that demon confiscated," Yami said confidently, Tea biting her lip, not looking quite as sure of the situation.  
  
Yusuke shoved his hands into his jeans pockets, glancing around at the group quickly before looking over at Kurama, who was silently pondering the situation to himself.  
  
"Yo, Kurama," Yusuke said casually, raising an eyebrow. "You haven't seen Hiei or Kuwabara lately, have you?" he asked.  
  
Kurama shook his head no, narrowing his bright green eyes.  
  
"No, I'm afraid I haven't," he replied honestly as the gang rounded the corner.  
  
Joey raised an eyebrow, something from before clicking.  
  
"Oh yeah…" he exclaimed out loud, causing everyone to look at him. "You brought a couple of buddies with you on your "demon-hunting" expedition, right? Including a really shrimpy guy with a bad attitude?" he asked, gesturing to small height.  
  
Yusuke nodded.  
  
"Yeah…that sounds like Hiei," he replied with a shrug. "You ran into him somewhere?"  
  
Joey scrunched up his nose as he remembered their "encounter" earlier that morning.  
  
"Yeah…if you call him smashing through MY window and into my closet "running into," The blonde-haired boy replied with a sigh. "Funny, though, I thought he was around during the battle with that demon guy…earlier…"  
  
Kurama tilted his head to the side.  
  
"I got carried off with Bakura so I never noticed him," he replied, Bakura shrugging, not remembering anyone else entering the battle scene.  
  
"Ah, well, they can take care of themselves," Yusuke said casually, Pearl yawning and sitting down on the edge of the sidewalk.  
  
"I wanna go home, Amber," The white-haired girl muttered in English, her brown eyes disappearing behind her eyelids as they drooped downward. "I'm tired…"  
  
Amber sighed, her shoulders sagging.  
  
"I know it's been a rough day, Pearl, but we've got to help get rid of this demon, or else we'll never get any peace in this town," she explained, giving her an encouraging smile, but Pearl didn't seem to be in the mood.  
  
"But…" Pearl started to protest when Duke smirked, winking at her.  
  
"Come on, we know you can last it out until a little later, since you're so tough," he said with a grin, causing Pearl to blush rather noticeably as she bounced back to her feet, grinning embarrassedly.  
  
"Well of COURSE I can!" she declared, blinking, her eyes wide and alert again. "Who says I can't?"  
  
Amber scowled, that not having been her ideal way of getting her younger cousin to cooperate.  
  
"I love Pearl, but honestly," The brown-haired girl thought to herself, glaring at the younger girl. "I can't wait until she goes back home again."  
  
Yami chuckled, having not quite understood what the three were talking about, but getting the gist of it. His laugher was cut off, however, as four of the five pointers on the Millennium Ring suddenly lit up and pointed directly in front of him. The fifth lit up as well, but pointed to the left, as if there were two Millennium Items approaching; one much closer than the other.  
  
"Uh…Yugi?" Tea asked, tapping her friend lightly on the shoulder as he stared down at the Millennium Ring. "I think that the demon caught up with us."  
  
Yusuke pointed his index finger out in front of him, aiming behind Yami and Tea, where a dark green demon had just emerged from the shadows. Keiko gasped, Puu letting out a startled screech and burying itself in the brown-haired girl's arms.  
  
  
  
"The demon!" Bakura cried, his brown eyes wide as he staggered backward, Uroko grinning malevolently at the group.  
  
  
  
Kurama nodding, narrowing his eyes as he pulled a red rose out from behind his long, red hair and transformed it into the Rose Whip with his spirit energy. Pearl's pearl lit up around her neck as Duke and Amber, having run out of dice and marbles, retreated slightly.  
  
Yami's Millennium Puzzle lit up brilliantly as he narrowed his eyes angrily.  
  
"The Millennium Items should not be in the hands of evil," he declared boldly, the Millennium Eye glinting in Uroko's left eye socket as he advanced forward. "And that includes the likes you!"  
  
***********  
  
Bastet flicked her tail in irritation as she closed her eyes, Karim having contacted her mentally, and now the black cat goddess was listening to her newest associate's report.  
  
"The priest did what?!" she cried, jumping up so suddenly that Thoth looked over strangely at her from where he had been writing.  
  
Shadi, who had also been in the temple hallway, leaning against the stone walls, raised an eyebrow.  
  
"The priest did not leave," Karim continued through the mental link, sighing. "He said something about another tie to the world, and it was apparently much too strong to be broken by the power of a Millennium Item."  
  
Bastet narrowed her yellow eyes.  
  
"Another tie?" she repeated mentally, Shadi still watching her curiously, but Thoth now back at his writing. "How could that be? That priest…" she hissed. "He's been more trouble than he's worth."  
  
Karim paused, clutching the cold metal of his Millennium Scales as he thought about whether or not he should stick up for the priest at all…or whether, as a rookie, he should just keep his mouth closed and do whatever Bastet said next.  
  
"Maybe…" Karim murmured, looking up at the sky, the stars twinkling overhead. "Maybe it's all part of the destiny, Bastet."  
  
Bastet's ear twitched as she lighting scratched the stone floor with her claws.  
  
"What is, Karim?" she demanded, not in an angry tone, however.  
  
The dark haired young man smiled slightly, thinking about how the story had gone so far.  
  
"It's like the Millennium Puzzle," he replied in his mellow voice. "Everything in the Millennium Destiny falls into place, just like the pieces of a puzzle. The priest's presence, your appointing me to the Millennium Scales, and even this strange force are all part of it."  
  
Bastet paused, taking in what the new item owner had just said, and then she sighed.  
  
"All right," she muttered, heaving another sigh and slinking off into the dark temple hallways. "See if you can be of any use to them, Karim."  
  
Karim nodded, looking out into the distance.  
  
"I will," he promised, and the mental link was cut.  
  
Out in the distance the young man looked, and he sighed, narrowing his dark eyes. It was as clear as if a huge mass of black clouds had just been formed and were hovering over one area. The darkness was there, and challenging the Millennium Items…and their owners.  
  
***********  
  
Meanwhile, Seto walked down the street, one hand in his pocket and the other clutching his briefcase. He'd stowed the Millennium Rod through his belt loop for the time being, since they were apparently going "demon" hunting. Who knew what that could mean.  
  
Mokuba looked up at Priest Seto, who looked preoccupied with something. The black-haired boy tilted his head to the side in curiosity, but didn't disturb the spirit's train of thought. Instead, he sighed and looked forward, where Kuwabara was muttering something under his breath.  
  
"So what exactly are we doing?" Seto asked, getting fed up with wandering around the city.  
  
Kuwabara shrugged.  
  
"I dunno...trying to find Kurama and Urameshi, I guess," he replied, when suddenly, a huge bang rang out from nearby, shaking the ground. "Yai! What was that?!"  
  
Hiei narrowed his eyes, looking up to see a large cloud of smoke rising from somewhere a few blocks over. Priest Seto's eyes widened as he sensed something.  
  
"It's…the work of a Millennium Item," he gasped, Seto looking up at him strangely.  
  
"A Millennium Item? Are you sure?" he asked, narrowing his eyes.  
  
That didn't make much sense, after all, since they were supposedly trailing a demon and not a Millennium Item owner.  
  
"It's definitely the demon," Hiei said darkly, sprinting down a few blocks, Kuwabara, Seto, and Mokuba jogging after him. "And if I'm not mistaken, I think he's met up with the others."  
  
Kuwabara broke into a grin, cracking his knuckles.  
  
"Great! Not it's time for some demon-butt-kicking action," he declared, Mokuba rolling his eyes.  
  
"Niisama, do you think he'll be affected by the Millennium Rod like humans are?" The boy asked, smiling up at his older brother.  
  
Seto didn't reply as the four and Priest Seto turned the corner and spotted the green-skinned demon in the middle of the road, a smoking and rather crushed-looking car overturned beside him. Uroko flexed his claws as his yellow eyes took in his opponents.  
  
"There he is!" Kuwabara declared, staring wide-eyed ahead of him.  
  
Yusuke's ears perked up as he, Yami, and Tea were backing up, plotting their next move. The black-haired boy looked around Uroko and spotted Kuwabara, along with Seto and Mokuba.  
  
"Hey, it's Kuwbara!" Yusuke cried, grinning. "And Hiei too," he added, noticing the black-haired demon whip out his sword, shadowed by a building. "Great, now the gang's all here."  
  
Yami followed Yusuke's gaze and spotted Seto and Mokuba, as well as Priest Seto, who was hovering above the two of them. The Pharaoh raised an eyebrow, curious.  
  
"Why are Kaiba and his brother here?" he asked himself, biting his lip. "Oh well, with the Millennium Rod he should be able to take care of himself."  
  
Uroko grinned, the Millennium Eye lighting up.  
  
"Foolish humans and demon traitors," he laughed, slashing his claws in front of him, razor sharp red rays shooting forward and destroying another parked car, Pearl, Duke, and Amber ducking for cover from the falling debris.  
  
Kuwabara smirked, extracting his Spirit Sword once more, the orange sparkling substance that gave the sword power from his spirit energy seeming to glow in the dark evening twilight. Yukina blinked as Kuwabara lunged at Uroko's back.  
  
"Be careful, Kazuma!" The mint-haired girl cried, Kuwabara's ears perking at the sound of the young girl's voice.  
  
Yami dug into his pockets and pulled out his deck, both his Millennium Puzzle and the deck lighting up with a white glow as he activated the powers of his ancient item. Seto pulled out the Millennium Rod as well, which was reacting to both the puzzle and the eye.  
  
"Mokuba, stay to the side, all right?" Seto asked sternly, Mokuba nodding slowly, backing up into the corner.  
  
"Um…okay," Mokuba sighed, realizing that this was on instance where he wouldn't be of much help. "Be careful, niisama."  
  
Priest Seto's spirit body began to glow a pale blue and the White Dragon appeared at his side, stretching out its mighty wings and flapping them, causing a huge gust of wind to blow down on everyone below.  
  
"Ready, White Dragon?" Priest Seto asked, the ancient Blue Eyes White Dragon nodded with a roar, causing Uroko to turn around, uncertain.  
  
"Yukina!" Kuwabara cried, stopping in mid-attack and waving at her. "What are you doing here?"  
  
Yukina gasped as Uroko's claws lit up again and he slashed at the orange-haired boy, sending him flying backwards against the brick wall of one of the buildings.  
  
"Fool, don't stop right in his way of his aim," Hiei muttered, darting forward and lunging at Uroko, who had to dodge at the last minute to avoid being sliced in two.  
  
"Go! Dark Magician Girl!" Yami declared, the pink and blue-clad apprentice of the Dark Magician appearing, winking and raising her swirly-tipped staff.  
  
"Ha!" she declared, sending a strong attack of dark magic right at Uroko, who shielded himself with a wave of his hand, creating a red barrier in front of him which absorbed the attack.  
  
"Such puny attacks won't penetrate my powers!" Uroko declared boldly, but even so, he felt a bead of sweat run down his face.  
  
He was cornered by the real Millennium Item owners, the Spirit Detective, two demons, and several other strange humans. As powerful as he was, he couldn't win in an all-out assault like this.  
  
"Don't worry, Uroko," Came a silky voice in his mind, and the green-skinned demon paused, thrilled at what he heard.  
  
"M…master?" Uroko asked, as Yusuke poised for a spirit gun attack, extending his index finger.  
  
A dark shadow suddenly fell over the whole area where Yusuke, Yugi, and the others were fighting, causing them all to stop in their tracks.  
  
"Wh…what's going on?" Tea asked, looking around wildly, her eyes wide with fright.  
  
"Keep them at bay," Atokata hissed, grinning as the shadow continued to grow. "With our combined powers, these fools don't stand a chance."  
  
**********  
  
End of Chapter Nineteen  
  
^^! Review please! And I'll TRY very hard to get the next chapter up sooner! X_X; And my muses all say "hi" and wish they could be here.  
  
Next chapter up soon! 


	20. Chapter Twenty: Combined Effort

Chapter Twenty: Combined Effort  
  
Notes: Boy do I miss my muses. Anyhow, thanks for reviewing! And yes, I'm trying to get these out as fast as I used to. I'm also working on several other stories that might be appearing sooner or later. (New chapters of Era of Darkness, a YuYu Hakusho chapter fic, and another parody YuGiOh fic.)  
  
Here's chapter twenty, in any event. *claps* My second YuGiOh fic to make it to Chapter 20!! And I think this one's surpassed Darkness is a Jackal's Eye by a few reviews. ^_^!  
  
***********  
  
Chapter Twenty: Combined Effort  
  
"Y…Yugi?!" Tea asked, her voice shaking as she reached out and grabbed his arm. "What's going on here?"  
  
Dark Magician Girl blinked, her green eyes wide and curious as she looked around at the huge shadow that was enveloping everyone around. Keiko pulled Yukina down next to her, Pearl still standing in front of the two of them, her pearl glowing its soft, blue glow.  
  
"I'm…not sure," Yami replied uneasily, narrowing his purple eyes as the shadow folded over a few feet from where Keiko, Yukina, and Pearl were, the sides folding up and forming a ceiling overtop of them, as if a barrier of shadow had just trapped them inside the playing field to prevent escape.  
  
Kurama narrowed his green eyes darkly.  
  
"It seems that there will be no escape from this battle," he said, voicing Yami's thoughts as he lashed his rose whip out.  
  
Joey shivered, looking around nervously, his teeth chattering.  
  
"Something tells me that's not a good thing," he muttered, looking over at where the White Dragon had now appeared. "Yow! Kaiba summoned a Blue Eyes!"  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes, too concerned with the situation to be offended that Joey had given Seto credit for the White Dragon's appearance. Seto, meanwhile, closed his eyes, focusing his energy on the Millennium Rod, his deck in his coat pocket lighting up in time with the Millennium Item.  
  
"Come out, Blue Eyes White Dragon!" he declared, a crack of white lightning striking overhead in the shadow barrier and a second dragon appearing, stretching out its mighty wings.  
  
"Whoa, looks like Hiei's dragon has some competition," Yusuke muttered, raising an eyebrow at the giant blue and white dragons, both of whom were looking down at Uroko angrily.  
  
The green-skinned demon gulped, backing up slightly, only to turn around and see Dark Magician Girl, Yusuke, Pearl, and Kurama, waiting to attack. In front of him was Seto, the Priest, Kuwabara, and the two dragons, and Hiei was to his right. The only thing on his left, however, was a solid brick building, making escape impossible. He was surrounded.  
  
"M…master?" he asked feebly, his voice shaking even through the mental connection. "Even with your shadow barrier, how are we to defeat so many adversaries at one time?"  
  
Atokata's laugh suddenly echoed through the shadow barrier that everyone had just been trapped in, as on the brick building his huge shadow form appeared, the only thing distinguishing him from a real shadow, his yellow eyes which were wide as he took in the scene below.  
  
"Ah…so it comes to this," The whisper-like voice hissed through the shadows, everyone turning to look up at the shadow demon. "Two demons against all of Spirit World's defenders and a few other strange and ancient magically enhanced beings. Pitiful."  
  
Mokuba gulped, getting a bad feeling about the shadowy being that was now speaking so calmly to everyone.  
  
"Something tells me his powers are even greater than that green-skinned demon everyone was having so much trouble with," The black-haired boy thought to himself, stealing a glance over at his older brother. "Niisama…be careful."  
  
Yami narrowed his eyes angrily, clenching his fists.  
  
"I hope you're referring to your OWN chances, by the adjective "pitiful," The former Pharaoh said boldly. "We've defeated all your other minions with no trouble at all."  
  
Atokata's eyes changed, as if the shadowy being were smiling, or smirking.  
  
"Be as that may, you still have no idea what my powers can do," Atokata said in a knowing voice. "I will give you all one chance to surrender all of your items and your lives will be spared."  
  
Hiei rolled his eyes, clutching his sword still.  
  
"We may as well get to the battle then, because none of us here are about to do that," he replied coldly.  
  
Yami nodded in agreement, his eyes still narrowed in anger, and fixated on the shadow on the wall. Seto looked up at Priest Seto, who nodded, knowing what his reincarnate was going to do.  
  
"Blue Eyes!" Seto declared, jerking the Millennium Rod toward Atokata. "Attack that shadow!"  
  
"You too, White Dragon!" Priest Seto added, both dragons letting out tremendous roars as they flew toward the shadowy being on the wall, poised for attack.  
  
Atokata smirked, his eyes widening and flashing dark red as a huge crackle rolled by, and a cloud of shadow flew from the wall to the flying dragons, smothering them both in its sickly embrace. Seto's determined face fell as he heard a painful cry from the dragons inside, mingled with the laughter of the horrid shadow demon.  
  
Uroko grinned, noticing that everyone's attention had shifted from him to his master, leaving him plenty of time to come up with a sneak attack. Pearl clenched her fist at her side, trying not to be scared.  
  
"My powers came in handy once," she thought to herself, narrowing her brown eyes in determination. "And they might come in handy again. But we'll never know unless I try!"  
  
"Ice beam!" Pearl yelled, her eyes narrowed as a stream of ice ran up the brick wall, beginning to cover the outside of the shadowy demon.  
  
Amber bit her lip.  
  
"Pearl! You should wait until we see what his attacks do!" she yelled out at her cousin, her brown hair flying wildly in the wind from the shadow bubble that was now encasing the two roaring dragons.  
  
Kurama nodded, his red hair also whipping around in the wind.  
  
"That would be wiser," he agreed as the shadows above them that had enveloped the two Blue Eyes White Dragons vanished, and the two grayed dragons falling to the ground with a thud, cracking up some of the asphalt from the streets with the weight of their bodies.  
  
Seto and Priest Seto's eyes widened in horror at the state of their dragons.  
  
"That mass of shadows did all this to them?!" Seto cried, his Millennium Rod glinting as his clutched the handle tighter.  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes at Atokata, who had now turned his attention down at the little white-haired girl who was attempting to freeze him.  
  
"You cannot freeze a shadow with your pathetic ice magic," he declared, his eyes widening in a horrific manner, the ice suddenly ceasing to come toward him, as if cringing and shrinking away from the shadow-like fumes that were now emitting from Atokata himself.  
  
Pearl gasped as a beam of dark shadow-like substance flew through the air and right into her pearl, causing the glow to die down at the shadows engulfed it as well. The white-haired girl let out a startled cry and fell to her knees, clutching her single pearl necklace.  
  
"Pearl!" Amber cried, attempting to run toward her younger cousin, but Duke pulled down on her, causing both of them to tumble to the ground, narrowing missing a blue beam from Uroko, who had just tried to shoot at the unsuspecting group of teens.  
  
"Okay, I hate tag-teams, but looks like half of us are gonna need to finish up creepy green-guy down here and the other half get rid of the nightmare on the wall," Yusuke grumbled, his index finger glowing bright blue as he aimed at Uroko. "Spirit Gun!"  
  
Uroko gasped, dodging, only to run right into the Dark Magician Girl, who narrowed her green eyes angrily, holding her swirly-tipped staff in front of her boldly.  
  
"Dark Magic Attack!" Yami declared, Dark Magician Girl waving her staff around, letting a dark black and green magical attack sprout from the tip, surrounding Uroko.  
  
"No!" The green-skinned demon cried as Kuwabara slashed at him with his Spirit Sword, to make sure he fell this time.  
  
"That should do it!" he declared boldly, the monster turning around and facing Kuwabara, looking severely burnt by all the attacks. "Uh-oh!"  
  
"Die!" Uroko declared when suddenly, a bright blue light surrounded him, causing Kuwabara to blink in surprise as the demon was blasted away, the only thing left behind from the attack the golden Millennium Eye, which fell to the asphalt below with a clank, unharmed.  
  
Yusuke smirked.  
  
"There," he muttered, looking down at his fingertip. "Number three of the day. Just one more left," he muttered, glaring up at Atokata, who was completely unharmed after both attempted attacks from the Blue Eyes White Dragons and Pearl's magic.  
  
Bakura narrowed his eyes, quickly darting over to where the Millennium Eye was and scooping it up, only to trip as a long beam of gray energy was shot at him. The white-haired boy fell onto the sidewalk with a thud, skinning his elbow and chin.  
  
"Ow," he muttered, looking up to see Atokata glaring at him, his yellow eyes fixated on the boy.  
  
"So Uroko fails and I am left to deal with you fools myself," The shadow demon murmured, his eyes clearly showing a grin. "No matter. For it is only a matter of moments before I possess all of your magic, and have claimed each and every one of your lives."  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes as Mokuba backed away from the wall slowly, not wanting to get too close to the shadow beast. The boy's gray eyes wandered down to the injured dragons on the ground, both of whom were trying to get back on their feet. Their white skin was tinted gray now and sizzled, as if they'd been burned by the shadow magic.  
  
"What now?" Kuwabara muttered, looking up at the shadow demon, which was still glaring down at Bakura, who was now on his feet, trying to make his way back to the others, so he wouldn't be out in the open like an obvious target for an assault.  
  
Yami looked over at Kurama.  
  
"We need to stall for time until we figure out exactly what that shadow magic of his does," The red-haired demon suggested, Yami nodding.  
  
"I concur," he replied, shuffling through his deck and pulling out another card. "Giant Soldier of Stone!" he declared, the large rock-beast appearing in front of he, Kurama, and most of the others.  
  
The only one's now not behind the soldier were Seto, Mokuba, and the priest, all of whom were on the other side, and Hiei and Bakura, who were still near the side directly facing Atokata. Pearl winced as she pulled herself to her feet, looking blearily down at her pearl necklace, which was still engulfed in the gray shadows.  
  
"What…did that guy do…?" she murmured, staring straight ahead.  
  
Amber hurried toward her, grabbing the young girl's arm and pulling her back with the others.  
  
"Stay back here, Pearl," she instructed, her normally confident and calm blue eyes showing traces of worry. "And don't try to use your ice magic again until we know for sure what this thing can do, okay?"  
  
Hiei narrowed his amber eyes at the strange shadow figure on the wall in front of him.  
  
"Obviously no amount of sword skills are going to defeat this shadow," he thought to himself, looking down at his right arm. "So it seems only magical properties are going to affect it so long as it has somewhere to hide on."  
  
Joey gulped, leaning down toward Yami, who was glaring up at the .  
  
"Er, Yugi?" he asked, sweating slightly. "You CAN beat this brick-wall-freak, right?"  
  
Yami sighed, biting his lip.  
  
  
  
"Let's hope that together WE can," he replied, looking at the others.  
  
************  
  
Meanwhile, in a dark location far away from Domino, a woman with neatly polished fingernails folded her hands in her lap, looking into a small crystal ball in front of her, a blue fog pulsing through it. She smiled, a vague and rather nefarious smile.  
  
"So it seems that your powers are great, Pharaoh of the cursed age," she murmured to herself, her own voice echoing through the room. "Much greater than I had expected," she murmured, her eyes rolling across the scene, spotting Amber, Duke, and Pearl.  
  
The she moved her narrowing eyes toward the other side where Seto, Priest Seto, and Mokuba were. She clenched a fist in her lap, her smile fading.  
  
"They…" she hissed angrily, gritting her teeth. "They will pay. They will pay DEARLY for what they caused us to suffer."  
  
***********  
  
End of Chapter 20  
  
REVIEW!  
  
Next chapter up soon! 


	21. Chapter TwentyOne: Farewell

**Chapter Twenty One: Farewell**  
  
Notes: And here we go with Chapter 21! Thanks for reviewing, and again, thank you for your patience with chapters.   
  
And anyhow, as always, here's the final chapter. Sorry this story has been taking me so long.  
  
**Chapter Twenty One: Farewell**

* * *

Kurama sighed as he watched Yami shuffle through his deck, hoping to find an appropriate monster to finish off the shadow on the wall. Dark Magician Girl eyed Atokata warily, gripping her staff tightly. She would love to take a try and attack it, but after seeing what happened to the Blue Eyes White Dragons, she had decided to wait for her master's orders.  
  
Seto looked up at Priest Seto, raising eyebrow.  
  
"What did he do to the dragons?" he inquired, the ancient priest's spirit shrugged, biting his lip in concern.  
  
"I don't know," Priest Seto admitted with a sigh as White Dragon and the Blue Eyes Seto had summoned vanished, both owners knowing that allowing them to retreat was probably the best option. "But we'll have to plan our next moves very carefully."  
  
Yusuke clenched his fist, getting sick of watching Atokata's shadowy self flicker around on the wall like a dying flame.  
  
"This is stupid!" The black-haired teen declared, glaring up at the shadow demon. "You're going down in one big blow out!" he yelled, pointing his index finger at the wall, it lighting up brightly as his spirit energy flowed toward it.  
  
Kurama's eyes lit up as Bakura leaned against the back wall, clutching the Millennium Eye tightly in his hands. Holding the powerful item didn't scare him anymore, now that he knew there was no evil spirit inside him that could take control and use the item for evil at any moment.  
  
"One big shot..." Kurama murmured, looking up at Yusuke, who was ready to fire on Atokata. "Yusuke, that's it!" he yelled, hoping he could stop his friend before it was too late. "Don't fire at him just yet!"  
  
Yusuke blinked, looking over at Kurama as if he were insane.  
  
"What do you mean ,"Don't fire at him just yet?" Yusuke yelled back, narrowing his eyes. "If we don't attack him then he'll just get away!"  
  
Atokata grinned, seizing the moment of unbalance and firing a shadowy beam directly at the Spirit Detective. Amber's eyes widened, as did Keiko's.  
  
"Yusuke! Get out of the way!" Keiko screamed, her eyes filled with horror as the blast came near the teen, who wasn't paying a bit of attention.   
  
There was a flash of gray light as something pink and blue flashed by Yusuke. The attack collided with the ground, causing a good deal of the surrounding pavement to explode, dust and smoke filling the air in the shadow-dome. Amber coughed, Yami having paused on one of his cards.  
  
"One big shot..." he murmured, repeating what Kurama had just said. "I understand."  
  
"Yusuke!!" Keiko screamed, looking frantically around as the dust cleared, the wispy laugh of Atokata ringing through the Shadow Dome. "Did he get hit??" The brown-haired girl asked Tea, who was standing beside her, looking equally horrified.  
  
"I...I couldn't tell..." Tea admitted truthfully, scanning the area, hoping very much that somehow, someway, Yusuke had been knocked out of the path of the blast.  
  
"Up there!" Mokuba suddenly shouted, pointing up toward the ceiling of the Shadow Dome.  
  
Everyone followed his gaze to see the Dark Magician Girl floating in mid air, clutching her swirly-tipped staff in one hand and holding Yusuke by the collar of his shirt with the other. Yami smiled, glad he'd chosen to summon Dark Magician Girl.  
  
"Whoa, now that was close," Yusuke muttered, looking at the large hole in the cement that the attack had made.  
  
Kuwabara snorted.  
  
"Hey Urameshi!" he called up to Yusuke, who looked down at his friend. "You had to be saved by a girl!"  
  
Yusuke gritted his teeth, waving a fist at Kuwabara.  
  
"Hey! Shut up!" he yelled down at him, all his rocking around causing Dark Magician Girl to lose her grip on his shirt.  
  
"Stop that!" The apprentice magician yelled angrily, her staff slipping slightly and shooting out a Dark Magic Attack right near Kuwabara and Mokuba.  
  
"Whoa!" Kuwabara cried, backing up into Mokuba as the attack demolished a large portion of the wall behind him. "Okay...I take back what I said before," he muttered, looking rather awkward.  
  
Mokuba crossed his arms over his chest.  
  
"You can't underestimate ANY Duel Monsters," he declared proudly. "Even the girls."  
  
Kuwabra gulped and nodded.  
  
"I guess you were right," he muttered, looking back over at Kurama, who seemed to be formulating a plan.  
  
"We need to attack him with everything we've got in one blast," Kurama muttered to himself, Yami overhearing the red-haired demon's plans.   
  
"Yes," The spiky-haired Pharaoh agreed, pulling a card out of his deck. "I have my weapons. Now we need everyone else to get theirs."  
  
Atokata narrowed his eyes, blasting out another shadow beam at the group below, but the Giant Soldier of stone stepped into its firing path, taking the hit for everyone, its massive stone body only just enough to keep the magic from hitting the group.  
  
"Hiei!" Kurama called over the black-haired demon, who looked quizzically over at him. "You need to use your Darkness technique."  
  
Hiei raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply. After all, he had been thinking along similar lines, Hiei reminded himself, pulling off his black robe again and unraveling the bandages that he'd wrapped around his right arm.  
  
Seto looked down at his deck, rummaging through it.  
  
"The Blue Eyes White Dragon would be too injured to fight again," Seto thought to himself, stumbling upon another card. "But I have other beasts that could contribute a good amount of attack power in a group attack," he added, pulling out another dragon card.  
  
Priest Seto looked down at Bakura, who had made his way back over to Yami and the others. Kurama had pulled out a small, round object, and was holding it in his hands as Atokata shot yet another beam at the Giant Soldier, this time cracking his stone body and destroying him.  
  
"We're running out of time, Yugi!" Tea cried, clutching his arm.  
  
Yami narrowed his eyes, holding up several cards.  
  
"Black Luster Soldier!" he cried, sacrificing two of his monsters to summon the ritual monster to the area around them. "Dark Magician Girl, get ready!"  
  
The blue and pink clad magician nodded, her green eyes sparkling.  
  
"Go, Dark Necrofear!" Bakura declared, Yami blinking, turning around to see the white-haired boy clutching the Millennium Eye in his hands, it glowing brightly as the dark, fiend monster appeared in front of him.  
  
"I never thought Bakura would use the powers of a Millennium Item again after the incident with the Millennium Ring," Yami thought to himself, narrowing his eyes. "Perhaps I've underestimated his will...or else...is it possible that...?"  
  
Yami's thoughts were cut off, however, as a huge green dragon appeared in front of Seto, its skin shinning brightly in the light from the street lamps. A dark aura of some sort had surrounded Hiei, like black and purple flames rising up around the demon. Yusuke grinned as Dark Magician Girl set him down on the ground.  
  
"With our combined powers," Yami declared, Pearl standing up, her eyes turning slightly white as her pearl lit up brilliantly as well. "We will surely be able to defeat this monster, whoever he may be."  
  
Tea backed up, her lip quivering.  
  
"I hope this works," she thought desperately to herself.  
  
"Die!" Atokata yelled, a huge shadow beam bursting from his shadowy body and heading straight toward to the group.  
  
"Spirit Gun!" Yusuke declared, narrowing his eyes as he shot out a powerful beam of spirit energy.  
  
"Dark Magic Attack!" Dark Magician Girl yelled, she and Black Luster Soldier adding their attacks to the spirit energy blast, causing the three attacks to collide with the shadow beam.  
  
"Emerald Blast!" Seto declared, his Emerald Dragon shooting a green and white attack into the others.  
  
Priest Seto watched, his eyes wide, hoping that the combined forces would be enough. So far, the four attacks were only just keeping the shadow beam from hitting the streets and incinerating them all in one puff of smoke.  
  
Dark Necrofear attack its attack to the mix as well, red beams shooting from its eyes. Kurama looked worriedly up at the mix, realizing his plant attack would not be very useful in this situation. Stepping back, Pearl clenched her fists and shot icy blue beams up into the already rapidly growing attacks.  
  
Atokata narrowed his yellow eyes, straining to keep up with the force of energy that the group below was emitting.  
  
Their combined power is much stronger than I thought! The demon thought to himself, growling as he emitted more energy. I have to give everything I've got just to keep them from destroying my shadow beams and destroying me!  
  
Kuwabara grinned, thrusting out his fist and letting small, jagged shards of spirit energy loose, like miniatures of his Spirit Sword attack. Hiei closed his eyes, purple flames shooting out from his arm, forming themselves into a huge, purple and black dragon.  
  
"Just a bit more," Yami thought to himself, watching the energy bursts collide, one trying to overtake the other time and time again, and then receding back to the original point.  
  
"Dragon of the Darkness Flame!" Hiei yelled, his third eye burning away the white headband that he'd tied around his forehead as the dragon of the underworld lunged into the growing attacks.  
  
There was a horrible crackling sound as all the attacks merged. There was a shriek from Atokata as the shadows started to crumble beneath the attacks.  
  
Priest Seto narrowed his eyes, the White Dragon appearing once more at his side.  
  
"I know you're tired," The high priest said seriously to his loyal dragon. "But we need your help. Attack, now! White Lightning!"  
  
The White Dragon nodded solemnly, letting lose a giant attack of white energy that soared into the attacks. A bright flash of white and dark light suddenly covered the entire area as Atokata let out an unmistakable yell of agony as his shadow barrier was destroyed, and all of the attacks collided with him head-on.  
  
For several minutes, a huge flash of light and wind covered all of the area around them, and everyone took cover, Dark Necrofear and the other Duel Monsters disappeared. White Dragon roared before vanishing back to the priest's soul room.  
  
As the light and wind cleared, Keiko blinked, squinting around as the dust and debris that was falling from the totaled wall. Atokata and his shadow were nowhere in sight, and everyone else was still ducking for cover. Slowly, she stood up, shaking.  
  
"I...is it...dead?" she asked, almost too hopefully.  
  
Tea stood up as well, Yami retreating to the puzzle and letting his aibou take over once more. Yugi blinked, rubbing dust out of his eyes as he got to his feet.  
  
"I...think so," Tea murmured, looking down at the normal Yugi, whose Millennium Puzzle glinted in the moonlight that was now pouring down on them, the shadow barrier having dissolved.  
  
Yugi nodded as he watched his friends, both old and new, get to their feet, all looking very tired.  
  
"Whatever that thing was," The spiky-haired boy declared. "It's dead now. Thanks to the Duel Monsters...and those other guy's powers."  
  
Pearl puffed up her chest, looking irritated, her face streaked with dust and dirt from the asphalt and the crumbling wall.  
  
"And me!" she declared, pointing to the pearl she wore around her neck. "I used my pearl's magic to add to those attacks!"  
  
Yugi giggled as Amber rolled her eyes, putting a hand on her cousin's shoulder.  
  
"We know you did," The brown-haired girl replied calmly. "Good job."  
  
Duke nodded with a wink, his black ponytail bobbing from side to side.  
  
"Yeah," he agreed. "Couldn't have done it without you."  
  
Pearl blushed, not expecting everyone to compliment her so. Yukina smiled, pulling herself to her feet, glad no one had been seriously injured in the attack. She was even more glad that the shadow demon had been destroyed, along with his evil minions.  
  
Yusuke punched a fist into the air.  
  
"All right!" he shouted, grinning proudly. "That's mission accomplished, right?"  
  
Kurama chuckled, his red hair flowing back in the evening breeze.  
  
"Yes, that's one way to put it," he agreed, looking over at Yugi and his friends.  
  
Yugi smiled.  
  
"Thanks for all your help," he said gratefully, walking over to Yusuke and extending a hand to the taller boy. "We really appreciate it."  
  
Yusuke blinked, not expecting Yugi, the one who had just summoned several monsters from another dimension, to be so friendly. A second later, however, he got over the shock and shook the boy's hand.  
  
"Anytime," he replied casually. "Cool monsters."  
  
Yugi chuckled, blushing slightly and rubbing his neck with his left hand.  
  
"Blasting things with your finger is pretty cool, too," he replied, chuckling.  
  
Meanwhile, Keiko sighed with relief, looking around at the others and the destruction everything had caused.  
  
"I swear," she muttered, brushing a lock of her thick brown hair behind her. "One of these days, we're not all going to come out of these little "cases" in tact."  
  
Tea sighed, shaking her head and smiling as she walked up to the girl.  
  
"That's what I keep telling myself, too," she replied. "But so far, we all have. Somehow."  
  
Hiei sighed, his eyes growing heavy as all traces of the Dragon of the Darkness Flame vanished. He'd absorbed it during a battle in the Dark Tournament, giving him control over it, but he still couldn't avoid the side-effect of summoning it.  
  
Yawning, the black-haired demon fell backwards, asleep, onto the sidewalk behind him. Kurama chuckled, shaking his head. Bakura sighed heavily, walking over to Yugi, the Millennium Eye in his hand. He extended his hand to Yugi, the troublesome Millennium Item in his palm.  
  
"Here you go, Yugi," he replied solemnly. "I'm sorry...for all the trouble I caused."  
  
Yugi smiled.  
  
"It's okay, Bakura," he replied with a smile. "Don't worry about it."  
  
Bakura gave a weak smile back, and looked around at the others. Everyone looked tired and drained, but also victorious.  
  
"I suppose," Bakura thought to himself, Kurama giving him a smile. "If one good thing came out of all this, we met some new people...and, in a way, made some new friends."  
  
Keiko walked briskly over to Yusuke, sighing.  
  
"Can we please go home now?" she asked pleadingly, her eyes tired.  
  
Yusuke grinned in embarrassment.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, we can go home," he replied, looking at Yugi and his friends.  
  
Seto tucked the Millennium Rod back into his briefcase, Mokuba running up to him and giving him a quick hug, and then letting go.  
  
"I'm glad everyone's okay," Mokuba muttered, looking around at everyone. "Hey, what happened to the little guy with the eyes?" he asked, looking up at Kurama.  
  
Kurama chuckled.  
  
"After-effect of an attack," he replied with a smile, walking over to the black-haired demon.  
  
Yugi smiled at Yusuke.  
  
"Well, guess we'll see you around," he said with a smile, Yami, in spirit form beside him, smiling as well.  
  
Yusuke nodded, giving Yugi a thumbs-up as he turned around, ready to go back home.  
  
"Yeah...we'll be sure to drop by next time we're in town," he replied with a grin.  
  
The two teams bid each other farewell and went their separate ways: Yusuke and his friends back to their city and Yugi and the others to their homes in Domino. Yugi now possessed four of the seven Millennium Items, and had (hopefully) freed Bakura from the enslavement the evil spirit had held him in. But even with Atokata defeated, someone still lurked in the shadows, waiting to take their revenge...

* * *

**End of Story**  
  
Bit of a cliffy of an ending, but I think it wrapped itself up. For now, my YuGiOh series continues with "**Attack of the Ninja**" and my Yu Yu Hakusho series starts with "**Hikari no Tsuki,"** which has two chapters up. Be sure to check them out if you liked this one, and thanks for reading and reviewing.  
  
See you next time! 


End file.
